Simeone and Lazio, champion memory

May 14, 2000. This is the last day of A series. Full fight for the title. Everything is pending Perugia–Juventus. The second part of it was delayed by rain. It starts when the mess is over. lazio in Regina for 3-0. Diego Simeone, one of the scorers, was waiting in the locker room, alone, motionless, after scoring 1-0 on Perugia; so much so that, finally, he became a champion. He. And in the Roman club for the last time in its history.

“When I was about to get into the shower, they told me I marked the Perugia, once the continuation begins. I stopped and did not move again. I stayed there until the end of the game. The defeat of Juventus made us champions Italy“, he said later in an article on ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’.

The goal is scored Alessandro Calorito lose Edwin Van der Sar in the 49th minute at the stadium Renato Curi. The referee is Pierluigi Collina.

The second and last A series of lazio. The first was in 1974. He won by one point: his 72 to Juventus’ 71, which led him by two at the start of the action, in case the match of the ‘bianconero’ team was delayed due to rain. The Roman team does not rely on itself. He needs someone else’s push to take the lead and complete an impressive comeback: with eight days to go, he is nine points behind. Juventus; five from the end, four.

SIMEONE, KEY FIGURE OF LAZIO

The figure of SimeonSo, it’s basic. He didn’t give up. Not him or his team. The goals of the Argentine midfielder are important, four in the last four games.

The first of all, in the thirty-first round of the tournament, in Piacenza.

At 0-2 at the L stadiumEonardo Garilli, Simeone He became a substitute (he was in 13 of the 31 duels he played in that Serie A), he considered that he should be a starter, he entered in the 57th minute and scored the goal, 0- 1, in the 60th It was the first time he celebrated a goal with his thumbs pointing to his shirt number and name. A request to ‘shield‘, with his goals: another in 3-2 in Veniceanother in 2-3 in Bologna and another in Regina3-0 for the champion.

A forever bond between Simeon, the history and the fans of the celestial club. From a wonderful team that emerged between that year and the beginning of the next not only the league champion, but also, before, the European Super Cup, on the very day of the debut of Cholo: 1-0 against him Manchester United. He entered in ’66 to replace Pavel nedved. Later, he also conquered the cup and the Italian Super Cup in a double match with Inter.

“We had a complete team, with great players. People with personality and the ability to excel. The locker room has a clear intention to win and to that is added a great coach like Eriksson. We went from less to more and throughout the season we realized that we could make history,” he explained in the past. Simeonin that group with John Sebastián Verón, Marcelo Salas, Néstor Sensini, Matías Almeyda, Roberto Mancini either Alessandro Nesta, Besides others. A block for eternity in lazio.

FROM INTER TO LAZIO IN ‘OPERATION VIERI’

Simeone played 136 games, 94 as a starter, with 18 goals, under the command of four different coaches (the aforementioned Eriksson, Dino Zoff, Alberto Zaccheroni and Roberto Mancini) with the lazio over four courses, since his arrival in the summer of 1999.

When Simeone was transferred to lazio, on June 8, 1999, I don’t know. Within the operation of selling the Roman team to Inter, also a former red and white team Christian Vierithe Argentine midfielder followed the opposite path, although he found out in full truth, after the meeting of Massimo Morattimajority shareholder at that time of the ‘neroazzurro’ club, and Sergio Cragnottihis Lazio counterpart, in a hotel in the Italian capital.

“I don’t think he would mind playing on lazio. We haven’t told him yet, he’s traveling. He was very close to Inter Milan, but had a great technical mismatch. However, he ends up in a good team,” he said then. Morattiwho informed the ‘Cholo’ agent of the pass, Settembrini.

Simeon He has played for two years Inter (1997-98 and 1998-99), after his departure at the end of the 1996-97 academic year Atlético de Madrid for around seven million euros to the Italian entity, where he was then sold lazio.

When he arrived, he had no intention of starting. He was not even given an important role in the team. He’s like a supporting actor. It’s not like that. Simeone got it in training and in games until he became a champion. “This title is, for me, a personal victory. When I arrived here, no one gave me a chance. I felt like I had no place, like I would never be a starter. And well, I competed, I made sacrifices and I know if how to take advantage of opportunities. In the end “Besides winning the title, I won a personal battle. That’s how I feel,” he told ‘La Nación’ when he won Serie A.

He also suffered misfortune at Lazio: on September 26, 2001, in the group stage of the Champions League, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a match against PSV in Eindhoven, in a clash with the rival goalkeeper, Ivica Kralj, in the first half. In the 38th minute, he was replaced by They left Stankovic. After his rehabilitation, with sessions of up to six hours a day, on April 7, 2002, six months and almost two weeks later, he reappeared in Lazio-Lecce.

And he got to Japan and Korea World Cup 2002. “Always This was my main goal and it gave me the strength to get there to get up. All this time, I felt close, supported me, all the people from the national team. Now it’s my turn to play and do well,” he told EFE-Radio.

“I left because the time has come to change. In life, I only think about one thing: you better leave before others do to you,” added the then 33-year-old midfielder in that sense. “I made the decision with great calmness, because Lazio belongs to me in my memories: it is an emotional bond,” he added.

“Nostalgia exists, but also the awareness of leaving with the respect of the people, of my former colleagues. I would not have asked or asked for more. Some unions do not have the duration of a contract, because they belongs to the heart,” he emphasized. his departure from laziowho is now with him as the coach of Atlético de Madrid.

This is not the first time. It already happened in February 2012, in his debut as a red-and-white coach in European competition, in the round of 32 of the Europa League, with two victories, both in Rome1-3, the return signed by Radamel Falcao (2 and Adrian Lopezas lost Vicente Calderon, with the aim of Diego Godin.

Two wins en route to his first title including Athleticwhere he just has to win the Champions: he lazio opens up another opportunity.