The Atletico Madrid boss made a winning impact with his changes from the sidelines, while his Juventus counterpart reacted only when it was too late
Diego Simeone did it again on Wednesday.
He rallied and he cajoled from the touchline. He ran the risk of being banished to the stands. He stirred up the Vicente Calderon crowd to get behind their Atletico Madrid heroes. And, it turned out, he had the winning attitude that put Juventus counterpart Massimiliano Allegri to shame.
In their starting XIs, the two coaches had matched each other stride for stride for the Champions League Group A clash. But the second-half turnaround that sparked Atleti’s 1-0 win had the fingerprints of Simeone all over it.
The first half gave us a fair idea of what was to follow, with two packed midfields cancelling each other out for the entire 45 minutes. With both sides looking to play with a rather narrow approach, no leeway was given for the likes of Koke, Patrice Evra or Stephan Lichtsteiner to make space out wide. It was fairly dull stuff for the neutral.
Simeone’s introduction of Antoine Griezmann for Saul shortly after the interval was the first liberal move by either coach either before or during the match, and suddenly there seemed to be a slight injection of pace and flair.
Atleti’s goal arrived 15 minutes from the end. Stephan Lichtsteiner lost his man when tracking in to cover for Martin Caceres, and Arda Turan neatly turned home a wonderful cross from Juanfran. Allegri’s luck had run out.
While the Bianconeri might have felt it a bit harsh that their hard work had been undone, they hadn’t threatened nearly enough to truly be considered as being on a par with the Spanish champions. They didn’t get a single shot on target throughout the match, and Allegri only looked to do something about that when his side had already fallen behind. It was a trait for which he was regularly found out in his days as AC Milan boss.
Whereas Simeone had been quick and incisive about his first change, Allegri hadn’t. And Juventus’ first concession of a goal in over five months proved costly.
"It was a very even game. In this competition, though, the small details are decisive," Juve skipper Gianluigi Buffon admitted afterwards, and he had hit the nail on the head.
Both sides should still qualify from this group, with all four teams now on three points with four games to play. Juve will not panic. Only one team has got a maximum 18 points from their Champions League group since 2002, and a loss away to last year’s runners-up is hardly the end of the world.
But the long-standing inability of their coach to be proactive in his alterations must be addressed if they are to be a contender come the final stages this term.
Juve continued to display a decent shape, but for the home side there was more hope that something might come of their endeavour. Allegri had his side hanging on for a point, but Simeone’s proactivity had resulted in more opportunities in the final third.
Diego Simeone did it again on Wednesday.
He rallied and he cajoled from the touchline. He ran the risk of being banished to the stands. He stirred up the Vicente Calderon crowd to get behind their Atletico Madrid heroes. And, it turned out, he had the winning attitude that put Juventus counterpart Massimiliano Allegri to shame.
In their starting XIs, the two coaches had matched each other stride for stride for the Champions League Group A clash. But the second-half turnaround that sparked Atleti’s 1-0 win had the fingerprints of Simeone all over it.
The first half gave us a fair idea of what was to follow, with two packed midfields cancelling each other out for the entire 45 minutes. With both sides looking to play with a rather narrow approach, no leeway was given for the likes of Koke, Patrice Evra or Stephan Lichtsteiner to make space out wide. It was fairly dull stuff for the neutral.
Simeone’s introduction of Antoine Griezmann for Saul shortly after the interval was the first liberal move by either coach either before or during the match, and suddenly there seemed to be a slight injection of pace and flair.
Atleti’s goal arrived 15 minutes from the end. Stephan Lichtsteiner lost his man when tracking in to cover for Martin Caceres, and Arda Turan neatly turned home a wonderful cross from Juanfran. Allegri’s luck had run out.
While the Bianconeri might have felt it a bit harsh that their hard work had been undone, they hadn’t threatened nearly enough to truly be considered as being on a par with the Spanish champions. They didn’t get a single shot on target throughout the match, and Allegri only looked to do something about that when his side had already fallen behind. It was a trait for which he was regularly found out in his days as AC Milan boss.
Whereas Simeone had been quick and incisive about his first change, Allegri hadn’t. And Juventus’ first concession of a goal in over five months proved costly.
"It was a very even game. In this competition, though, the small details are decisive," Juve skipper Gianluigi Buffon admitted afterwards, and he had hit the nail on the head.
Both sides should still qualify from this group, with all four teams now on three points with four games to play. Juve will not panic. Only one team has got a maximum 18 points from their Champions League group since 2002, and a loss away to last year’s runners-up is hardly the end of the world.
But the long-standing inability of their coach to be proactive in his alterations must be addressed if they are to be a contender come the final stages this term.
Juve continued to display a decent shape, but for the home side there was more hope that something might come of their endeavour. Allegri had his side hanging on for a point, but Simeone’s proactivity had resulted in more opportunities in the final third.
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