When Atletico Madrid host Barcelona at Estadio Metropolitano, this is a great opportunity for them to reach the Copa del Rey final for the first time in 12 years. This is a big event, especially since the team suffered a painful defeat to the Blaugrana at home two weeks ago.
However, the result of the match against Barca will also greatly affect the future of coach Diego Simeone. The Argentine's achievements in big matches are increasingly gloomy and pose many questions.
Since the 2013-14 season, Atletico have won three, including just two major trophies: the 2018 Europa League and La Liga in 2021. This is an unacceptable achievement compared to Sevilla (5), Athletic Bilbao (3) - teams with less potential.
Even the capital Madrid side have won just one major trophy more than Real Sociedad (1) Villarreal (1), Real Betis (1) and Valencia (1) in the past 11 years. Of course, that is not Barcelona and Real Madrid, because Atletico do not deserve to put it on the scale.
Simeone's reputation has been tarnished by his helplessness and stubbornness in leading his team through the biggest challenges successfully. Compared to expectations when he came to Metropolitano 14 years ago to break Real's dominance at Madrid, everything has now disappeared.
Of course, it is undeniable that Simeone is one of the most successful figures in the history of Atletico Madrid. Look at his achievements as a player and a coach.
However, recent weeks have been chaotic for Atletico and Simeone. It would be harsh to make judgments about his dismissal based on the simple results. In fact, it is understandable whether Real Madrid were eliminated from the Champions League or dropped points against Barcelona in La Liga. The problem is, the cracks and doubts are much deeper.
Just a few weeks ago, Atletico still had the chance to win the legendary treble that only Barcelona, in Spain, had achieved. They are only 1 point behind leaders La Liga Barca and 2 points ahead of Real Madrid in third place. Atletico still have a chance to eliminate the two opponents in the Copa del Rey and Champions League after the first leg. Everything went really smoothly for Atletico at that time.
Ironically, before the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Blaugrana, Atletico's dream of a fatherland was quickly fulfilled. Even when reaching the Copa del Rey final, Simeone's disappointment with his team is still inevitable. But if they lose, things will get worse.
The key to keeping Simeone in the top four of La Liga - including 2022, when he admitted it felt like an era had ended - is the ability to regulate. This has helped the club earn hundreds of millions of Euros. However, their fans will not feel as excited about it as the owners.
Fans want to see the players improve their titles instead of feeling safe. Especially if we look at the success of the arch-rivals of the same city Real Madrid.
