Diego Simeone's 500th Atlético game – and La Liga's year – ends in familiarity | Sid Lowe

The final round of 2020 had a 1-0 win for the leaders, Iago Aspas tearing opponents apart and Barça underwhelming

“We’ve had spectacular 2020,” said Koke Resurrección, which might not have fit the public mood exactly but maybe that was because there was still no public at all. There hadn’t been since the time they went to Liverpool nine months earlier, a night so good that Marcos Llorente got a puppy and called it Anfield. Since then, there had been silence. The very next afternoon, the doors closed, staying that way for 93 days. And although they reopened for the players, sent into a strange, sterile new world, they didn’t for the people, some of whom would never come back. Some 264 games had been played in empty grounds in Spain’s first division alone and now here was Atlético’s captain on the penultimate day of the worst year, standing before another 68,456 empty seats.

There was no one there to see the message displayed on the giant screen way above his head, no one for the man it celebrated to lead, as much conductor as coach. Atlético Madrid’s final game of 2020 was Diego Simeone’s 500th as manager. “Incredible,” Koke called it. A lot has happened since he took over in January 2012, and a lot has changed. The old place has gone for a start, reduced to rubble and replaced. Real Madrid and Barcelona have been through seven managers each, Valencia have had 16. There may well never have been a coach who identified with and changed a club like Simeone changed Atlético: so quickly, so completely, so lasting. “He’s brought stability,” Koke said. He has brought success too. A Copa del Rey, two Europa Leagues, two European Cup finals and one league title.

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/dec/31/diego-simeone-500th-game-atletico-manager-la-liga-ends-familiarity-2020