Shortly before Diego Simeone took the Atletico Madrid job in 2011, he went to Barcelona to see how Pep Guardiola’s revolutionary first great side worked.
The two got really deep on the fine details of the game, from how high you press, to how you attack tight spaces. While most football figures at that time would have been captivated by such an opportunity, Simeone was more restrained. “I don’t feel this,” he said of one approach. “I don’t like this,” of another. And on it went, right through many of Guardiola’s principles.
