Diego Simeone took over Atletico
Madrid in December 2011, winning the
Europa League at the end of that season.
He has since guided the club to a La Liga title
in 2013-14 as well as winning the Copa
Del Rey, Supercopa De Espena, The UEFA Super Cup
and twice finishing as runners-up of the
Champions League. Simeone's Atletico aremost
revered as a defensive side, incredibly
well organized and hardworking. Simeone
prefers a 4-4-2, although this season in
La Liga, he has used a 4-4-1-1 and even 4-2-3-1 variant.
Two banks of four is, however,
the template for his system, in a league
that otherwise tends to prefer 4-2-3-1,
or variants of a 5-3-2.
Firstly, and with echoes of Arrigo Sacchi's
AC Milan side, Simeone's 4-4-2
is both vertically compact and narrow.
This creates two elements that are key
to the team's defensive methodology.
A congested midfield, and overloads out
wide. The central midfielders, usually Gabi
and the superb Koke, drop slightly as do
strikers Antoine Greizmann and Kevin
Gemeiro who allow the opposition
centre-backs or centre-half some space.
The wide players push up slightly
creating something akin to 4-2-2-2.
This compacts the central area, and even
though it allows the opposition space to
pass the ball, they are doing so in areas
that cannot hurt Atletico. As the
opposition move forward into their
defensive third, they drop deeper and the
wide men fan out slightly.
The aim is to ensure that when the
opposition get to within about 10 yards
of the penalty box, Madrid have a
compact, narrow two lines of four with
one striker assisting the midfield, and one
lurking for the long counter-attacking
ball. Simeone's teams are all about
minimizing risk, even if that means ceeding
posession, and it's only when the ball moves
into dangerous areas that they swarm the
opposition, and attempt to win possession. Atelitco Madrid do not press with the
same regularity as other sides known for
the tactic, but when they do,
it's aggressive and successful. With the
shape sacred above all else, the club
tend to press only when the opposition
player takes a poor touch or when the compact
narrow defensive shape has pushed them
wider. In this instance, a winger and a fullback
assisted by a forward dropping deep or
occasionally a central midfielder
shifting across, will form a triangle press
around the opposition player in
possession. The whole team will shift
across in this instance, keeping the
overall shape and conscious that the
likelihood of the pressed player being
able to switch the ball to the more open
opposite flank, is now limited. Atletico
Madrid are ruthless on the counter and
in Antoine Griezmann they have a lethally
clinical striker. Madrid focus the bulk
of their attacks from out wide with only
around 25% of their
attacks starting centrally. Winning
position from the press, the fullbacks and
wingers will drive forwards before
looking to release the striker. Atelti
have been caught offside 3.8 times
per match in La Liga this season, more than any
other side, indicitive of their
fast-breaking approach. With this style
the team rely much more on individual
attacking flair to create chances as
opposed to complex passing moves.
Diego Simeone has fashioned a side
that like Sacchi's, or those of Jose
Mourihno, is defensively predicated on rigid
organization, intelligent passing and
tactical discipline that maximize
attacking chances while minimizing
risk. Cholismo, as some call Simeone's
approach, balances individual
skill with team instructions, and with
this, he has created a fearsome team.
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