Chelsea: Diego Simeone seeks Premier League challenge
By Josh Sippie
Chelsea look to benefit; Diego Simeone looks for a challenge.
Trends come and go, but this trend is upsetting the balance in the world of football. Every major manager in the league is looking to snap up one of the many jobs that may-or-may-not be available.
It all started with Jurgen Klopp. The prolific, long-time Borussia Dortmund manager – one of the few managers to ever compete with Bayern Munich – took the opportunity to move to Liverpool. It is a brand new challenge in the toughest league in football, but Klopp is already making waves at his new club.
Then, it was Pep Guardiola. The highly-sought-after manager started a media storm in the Premier League, driving EPL sides to clamor for the “prolific” manager. It was the unfortunate Manuel Pellegrini of Manchester City that had to make way. Ever since, City have been even more inconsistent than usual.
Then it was Jose Mourinho. Fresh off departing Chelsea, the Special One is now reportedly all set to move into Chelsea’s rival, Manchester United.
Given that Chelsea are being run by interim manager Guus Hiddink, that means that there is another vacancy at Stamford Bridge.
That vacancy is reportedly going to be filled by Diego Simeone, who is tired of his years as the Spanish third wheel. The report indicates that Chelsea’s pay raise will be enough to tempt the Atletico Madrid manager to England, where he will be matching up against the best in the world.
This move would reunite Simeone with former Atletico Madrid man Diego Costa, meaning that Chelsea would not have to fear a loss of their man up front any longer.
Simeone is an excellent manager with powerful credentials. He did, after all, establish Atletico Madrid as a force in Spain in the midst of Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s spending sprees. Atletico was never able to compete financially, but with a few key signings and youth development, Simeone has been able to remain relevant.
Atletico currently sit in second, just ahead of their Madrid neighbors and just behind the Catalan powerhouse.
Of course, the other question is why Chelsea would look to replace Hiddink. The interim manager has yet to lose since taking over. Hard to do much better than not losing. Of course, given the financial freedom that is there, big time clubs like Chelsea will opt to spend more times than not.