Diego Simeone, the technical director of Atlético Madrid, analyzed the great development that the club has witnessed since he took responsibility 15 years ago, confirming that the rise in the team's status was accompanied by a significant rise in the ceiling of ambitions.
Simeone said in statements reported by Mundo Deportivo newspaper: "In the past, winning was a source of happiness, but now it has become a source of comfort".
The Argentine coach added: "I suffer now because we have brought the club to a place where we are more vulnerable to pressures, with the ceiling of expectations rising to a great degree, and therefore our responsibility has become huge. Presenting a good season is no longer enough".
Simeone considered that meeting the fans' ambitions after last season is not an easy task, after the team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, lost the Spanish King's Cup final on penalties, and finished the league in fourth place.
He explained: "We must reach the Champions League final, win the King's Cup, and finish the league in one of the top two positions, in a championship that includes Real Madrid and Barcelona".
The Argentine coach, who stressed that he still has the necessary energy to continue leading the team, confirmed that Atlético will work this season on "restoring the defensive solidity that we lost, especially in the Champions League", in addition to working on "increasing the contribution of midfielders in scoring goals".
He said: "I still believe that we are capable of seeking to achieve what our fans want, which is winning titles. We will do our utmost to achieve that".
He continued: "When I arrived at Atlético, the club had not won the league since 1996, then we achieved the title in 2014, that is, after 18 years. We returned as champions in 2021, after seven years. The team must reduce these periods further".
Regarding his future with Atlético Madrid, Simeone did not set a clear time frame for his continuation, confirming that he is not seeking to break records of coaches like Arsène Wenger, who spent 22 years with Arsenal, or Alex Ferguson, who spent 27 years with Manchester United.
He said: "I am only thinking about the energy, strength, and humility that we need to be here".
Simeone pointed to the difficulty of competing in Spain, saying: "We are in a club that competes with two superpowers (...) We are now in a distinguished place, but the teams behind us want to compete with us".
He added: "At Atlético, you must always be in full focus and at 110%, because 100% is not enough to win in Spain. You have to develop every day and not lose your humility, because the teams behind us continue to develop".
Simeone also did not close the door to the possibility of coaching the Argentine national team in the future, saying that this could happen "later".
The Argentine coach praised what his country's national team presented in the last World Cup, as well as the technical director Lionel Scaloni, whose work he described as "tremendous", but he acknowledged that Spain was the better side in the final match.
When Simeone was asked about the possibility of coaching Real Madrid or Barcelona one day, he answered strikingly: "One of them is definitely impossible. As for the other, I don't think so".
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