Diego Simeone’s super-charged Atletico Madrid were just too much for Xabi Alonso’s eventually overwhelmed Bayer Leverkusen.
The 2-1 result in Tuesday night’s Champions League group clash was definitely not decided by a tactical masterclass from Simeone. Alonso had arguably picked the better XI and made the more sensible substitutions to deal with how the game kept changing.
But this latest Atletico team showed huge heart and character and decisiveness — all the characteristics that El Cholo’s super intense management transmits to his best sides.
Alonso was left to rue the result in a match between two of Europe’s most high-profile coaches — and how his usually so well-organised and resilient team let slip a game which it seemed at one point they had full control of.
On a damp night at a heaving Estadio Metropolitano, both coaches were similarly dressed in dark coats — with the main difference being Alonso’s shiny white trainers to Simeone’s similarly shiny black shoes.
Through the opening stages, the Basque mostly watched with his arms behind his back, then regularly adjusted his team’s positioning on the sidelines. The Argentine bounced on his toes, kicking every ball, making every tackle and disputing every officiating call against his side.
Leverkusen looked the better set-up side and were well on top even before Atletico midfielder Pablo Barrios was sent off for a foul right in front of the visitors’ technical area. While Simeone railed against the decision — which came after a VAR review — Alonso used the break to offer instructions to several of his players.
Simeone celebrates as Atletico win the game on Tuesday night (Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
The game took on a familiar form with the 10-man Atletico settling in to defend and looking to grab something on the counter-attack. But that plan was in deep trouble when Leverkusen left-back Piero Hincapie was left completely unmarked 10 yards out to head the visitors 1-0 ahead just before half-time.
Leverkusen looked to press their advantage after the break, with Alonso sending on striker Patrick Schick for defender Nordi Mukiele. But they were caught out by a simple long-ball forward by Antoine Griezmann. Julian Alvarez showed superb determination and technique to shrug off much bigger defender Jonathan Tah and fire low into the net.
The momentum had swung to Simeone’s side, and there was nothing Alonso could do. Hincapie’s second yellow card made it 10 v 10 on the pitch, and Alvarez’s excellently taken second goal of the night won it for Atletico with 90 minutes on the clock.
Simeone set off running down the sideline to join in the celebrations, while Alonso just turned coolly on his heel and walked away in the other direction, keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself.
The tremendous encounter was just the latest meeting of two men whose careers have been intertwined for over two decades now — and who also might be seeing a lot more of each other quite soon.
Alonso and Simeone both had fantastic playing careers, often wearing the number 14 shirt for club and country. They were midfield generals who set the tempo for their team and appeared in decisive moments — if the Basque was more of an elegant playmaker, the Argentine had a reputation as an aggressive enforcer.
Simeone experienced Alonso’s first steps as a player — they met twice during Real Sociedad versus Atletico Madrid games in 2003-04 when the former’s playing career was almost over.
Alonso then had a first-hand view of Simeone’s impact when he arrived on the Atletico bench in December 2011, as he was then a holding midfielder in a Madrid team who soon found they had a proper rival for ‘derbi’ meetings.
“It was very tough, lots of stoppages, many protests, but that is nothing new here,” Alonso said after a hard-fought 2-2 draw for Madrid at Atletico in March 2014. “But you must get used to it – intensity is one of Atletico’s qualities. If you combine that with playing good football, then you always have a better chance to win.”
Simeone returned the compliment that same month when he was asked by Spanish magazine Jotdown to pick his current favourite player.
“Players like Xabi Alonso in midfield have the capacity to read the whole game,” Simeone said then. “Alonso’s return meant Madrid found the famous ‘balance’ their coach (then Carlo Ancelotti) was looking for. But the balance is Xabi Alonso, not the others.”
Simeone was also right there as Alonso’s senior coaching career started. The Basque’s fifth game in charge of Leverkusen was at the Metropolitano in October 2022. That was a fantastically exciting ding-dong 2-2 draw — with Atletico missing a 95th penalty and being eliminated from the Champions League group stages.
That game had its feisty moments, on both benches too. Alonso was booked by referee Clement Turpin for grabbing the ball to stop Atletico taking a quick throw-in at one point. Simeone confronted Turpin at the end to complain about the French official’s decisions during the game.
“They both really want to win,” a source who knows both well but did not want to offend either with his comments — and who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships — told The Athletic when asked about their similarities this week.
During Simeone’s long 14 years in charge of Atletico and Alonso’s nearly two-and-a-half years in Leverkusen, both have clearly made their mark on their teams.
Alonso has been widely praised for installing a very modern mix of front-foot possession and pressing at Leverkusen. Simeone’s brand has always been to defend deep and hit on the counter-attack — although over the seasons the team has evolved and added very technical playmakers like Griezmann and Rodrigo De Paul.
A look at some key metrics from the two teams’ seasons so far show how their styles can be compared and contrasted. Given their reputations as both players and coaches, it might come as a surprise to some how many similarities were thrown up.
The first slight surprise was that although Leverkusen had gained one more Champions League point through the first six games, Atletico had actually both scored (14-12) and conceded (10-5) more than Alonso’s side before Tuesday night.
There are surprising similarities between the two styles of play (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
As the graphic below shows, many of the two teams’ numbers so far across all competitions are quite similar — their chance creation metric was exactly the same, while they have almost the same very high amount of ‘patience’ in attack, and both are similarly excellent at press resistance.
There are some stark differences too — the ‘high line’ metric shows how Leverkusen are much more aggressive when it comes to squeezing up from the back. This is related to how they tend to dominate territory more often (higher field tilt 92-66), playing much more of their football in the opponent’s third of the pitch.
Maybe the biggest surprise in the numbers was both teams have relatively low ‘intensity’ rankings — suggesting that both are generally quite happy to let the opposition hold possession in not-so-dangerous areas.
A particularly remarkable similarity between Alonso’s Leverkusen and Simeone’s Atletico is their tendency to score crucial late goals. So many of the German side’s wins during last season’s Bundesliga triumph came through dramatic goals in added time. Atletico’s recent new club record 15-game winning run was delivered by waves of substitutions which often overwhelmed opponents late on — and that was before Alvarez’s late winner completed the turnaround in Tuesday’s game.
Asked by The Athletic at the pre-match news conference whether Alonso’s personality and character were reflected in how Leverkusen played, Simeone agreed.
“You can really see how he sees football from the centre of the pitch, which is where you can see it best,” he replied. “He had great coaches alongside him to help him and feed him with so many things. So absolute congratulations for all the work he is doing.”
Alonso also accepted the premise when The Athletic asked him the same question about his opposite number at the Metropolitano on Monday evening.
“(He is) a coach who has been here so long, who has had so much direct participation in the progress of this club, and the successes of the team,” Alonso replied. “He has been generating and creating a mentality. El Cholo and Atletico, the connection is intense, perfect and successful. There is also a connection with players like Koke, Griezmann, De Paul, who are devoted to his idea of the game. His stamp on the team and the club is very clear.”
Alonso’s visit to the Spanish capital this week was even more closely scrutinised than it would normally be, given heavy recent speculation he could soon return permanently as Real Madrid’s next first-team coach.
This idea is not new. Alonso began his coaching career in Madrid’s youth system, then had three seasons managing his boyhood club Real Sociedad’s B team before arriving at Leverkusen. His success there has been followed closely at the Bernabeu — where many see him as the obvious candidate to replace incumbent Ancelotti, sooner or later.
Alonso would not have been completely surprised when the very first question he faced at Monday’s pre-game news conference was not about Atletico, but whether he could confirm he would still be Leverkusen’s coach next year.
“I cannot confirm anything as we’re in the middle of this season,” he replied. “All clubs have big objectives — Atletico, Real Madrid, us too. Every three days we have a game to prepare, tomorrow is a really important game in the Champions League. I’m focused on that, above all.”
The non-answer was delivered in Alonso’s typically unruffled manner. He was similarly relaxed when asked whether he was happy at how Madrid fans retained their connection to him.
There are questions over whether Xabi Alonso might return to Madrid as head coach (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
“The years pass, but the affection remains, you cannot forget that,” he agreed. “The connection remains very strong. They were very intense years (playing for Madrid), it cost us a lot to achieve what we did, but then we celebrated it a lot, and that stays with you.”
The most intense of those years was Jose Mourinho’s time as Madrid coach — when the Portuguese eventually fell out with many of his own players — including legends Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and even his fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo. But Alonso stuck tightly with his manager through the whole period, loyalty which Bernabeu chief Florentino Perez is unlikely to have forgotten. That also showed that — just like Simeone — what really matters most for him is winning.
Simeone’s current comfort in his position at Atletico — with a new-look team that includes summer signings like Alvarez and Conor Gallagher blending together nicely — was also evident during Monday’s press events. The Argentine smirked as he kept feeding the current debate with Madrid figures — including Ancelotti — over whether the Bernabeu side have historically been favoured by match officials. Simeone reminded everyone that the Italian had complained loudly about the refereeing when he (and Alonso) were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Bernabeu in April 2017.
Alonso dodged elegantly again when asked for his current views over whether Madrid were favoured by referees. “You want to get me into controversy here,” he said with another smile. “I’m not getting into that debate.”
That was a taster of the type of questioning that Alonso would face should he become Madrid coach. The whole issue is a sensitive one for him at present — given how close he became with Ancelotti during their time together at both Madrid and Bayern. He will be well aware that Ancelotti does not want to leave the Bernabeu any time soon. He also gives the impression of being in no hurry to leave Leverkusen, as the opportunity will likely still be there whenever the time comes.
Alonso also said on Monday that his current side would have to be ready to deal with the experience of 90 minutes at a heated Metropolitano stadium. “We’ll have to know how to read the moments in the game and the emotional moments in the stadium when the fans drive Atletico on,” he predicted.
By the end of the second half the following night, as Simeone conducted the singing ringing all around the stadium, that prediction seemed spot on. Alonso’s Leverkusen side were ultimately unable to handle the situation.
Considering all the credit he has in the bank with Real Madrid fans and the hierarchy, the defeat is unlikely to affect Alonso’s chances of getting a chance to have another go at quieting the Metropolitano, with another team, sooner or later.
(Top photo: Alvaro Medranda/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
