Diego Simeone Quotes, best collection

Diego Simeone is an Argentinian former player turned manager who is currently the coach of

football club. He is considered among the greatest football figures of all time. One of those few stars who made it big both as a player and a manager. Diego Simeone was a world class holding midfielder who spent the majority of his career at La Liga and Serie A

Simeone won many major trophies and individual awards including the La Liga title with Atletico Madrid and the Serie A title with Lazio. He represented Argentina at three World Cups (1994, 1998 and 2002) and three Copa America's, winning two of them.

Simeone retired in 2006 at Racing Club and immediately became their manager. He has implemented the same passion and aggressiveness he had as a player in his playing system and his sides are known for their fighting spirit and collective strength.

Diego Simeone's first breakthrough came when he guided Estudiantes La Plata and River Plate to the Argentinian first division titles. However, he has established himself among the best in the world since his appointment as Atletico Madrid manager in 2011.

During a decade of work with Los Che, El Cholo has won many big titles including La Liga, Copa del Rey, two UEFA Europa League and the Spanish Super Cup. His brave Atletico side reached the final of the Champions League twice, but lost both of them to their city rivals, Real Madrid. He is truly among the most influential figures in the history of the beautiful game. In the following article we present you with a complete collection of

Diego Simeone quotes

.

Best Collection of Diego Simeone quotes

We present football fans with the Best collection of Diego Simeone quotes which includes his footballing philosophy as well as his comments on Messi and Ronaldo.

Most memorable quotes by Diego Simeone about his own personality:

Diego Simeone is famous for his passion, aggressiveness, determination and high spirit. He is also known for his emotional outburst at the touchline and his wild celebrations when his teams score important goals. His strong-willed attitude and disciplines has not been easy to handle for many players, but those who managed to get along with him admitted his influence on their performances. Here are Diego Simeone quotes about his own personality.

The ‘Cholo’ nickname was given to me by a Velez Sarsfield youth coach, Oscar Nessi. He had a footballer at

named Simeone who they called ‘Cholo’. One day in training he called me that and it stayed with me.

I have to continue to be very demanding of myself in order to evolve.

I'm a believer that emotions can move mountains, that spirit alone can trump budgets.

I was 27 or 28 years old when I really decided I would become a manager. I would go home from training at Lazio, grab a folder and pretend I was taking a training session. You know the way kids imagine things, when they are playing? I would do the same as an adult, playing at being a manager.

If you look away, do not see the immediate step and stumble. You have to go slowly.

I believe in order first of all and above all. Order is a way of life.

You always adapt to the place you live. Personality is forged with age and then we can choose, but first you adapt.

I cannot stand conformism, being passive is not me.

When I was ten, my music teacher at school chose me as a conductor. Some have seen me lead because they were almost all bigger than me.

From when I started to play with a ball I wanted to win everything.

Geminis are aggressive, changeable, and intense.

I like brave people.

The game's my life and I'm so passionate about it. When you see your life so intertwined with football it can make things very difficult. You might go and watch a film and start imagining footballers running across the screen, you know?

I watch a lot of football and read about psychology. If you put them together, the team is much better.

If there is one thing I am, it is very hard-headed. If I want something, I go after it - and I go after it ad nauseum.

Most memorable quotes by Diego Simeone about football and his own philosophy:

Diego Simeone has a unique philosophy of football. He was famous for his aggressive and defensive systems and also for his ability to get the best out of his players and his teams always play with determination and hunger for success. His footballing principles have significantly influenced the football career of many players and managers. It is certainly interesting to know more on the top quotes by Diego Simeone about football and his own philosophy of it.

Diego Simeone quotes about football

In life, only two things cannot be changed, your mother and your football team.

I relate football with boxing, with a street fight. In both cases there is always one moment, a second, in which someone shows fear in their eyes, in their body. In football it's exactly the same.

Football is everything, mind, heart, talent.

Football is wonderful because everyone can have an opinion and make judgements about what they think and see.

VAR exposes everything. Before we didn't have the possibility of seeing some things that we now see. The referees are people who can be wrong as well.

Football is like hunting. One second can change it all, but it's not just any second, it's a flash. The prey is there and suddenly then it's not. In an instant it's over - you won't have the chance again. You need to know which one precise second to train for, and to understand that moment.

There is no such thing as revenge in football, or in life for that matter, just new opportunities.

Football is wonderful because no one is right: there's no absolute truth.

Like I've always said, in football the most important thing is the quality of minutes not the quantity.

Title are great but football is about tomorrow.

The budget is over when the referee blows, then comes the heart, the illusion. The heart equals the budget.

Football is like boxing because you have to know when it is time to attack.

Football is not just in Europe, there is football all over the world so I am always open to the idea of managing anywhere in the world.

The only improvement I know in football is through work, it is the only way for the team to grow.

Football is marvelous and there are countless ways to play and to win.

Diego Simeone quotes about being a manager and his philosophy

The war is won by the man who best uses his soldiers.

Maybe the key aspect of imposing fear to the opposition is to make them understand that we have no fear.

I don't believe much in luck. I believe more in work, in convincing, in stubbornness and in capacity.

You have to attack to get corners, no? Winning by scoring strategic goals doesn't bother me - it's part of the game.

The group has to be with you. It has to believe in you, if it doubts or doesn’t trust you, obstacles begin to appear in your path.

As a coach, the greatest passion you can have is for improving players.

My role is to take the player to his limits, to provoke him, to annoy him against me, because in this nervousness is the will to improve.

There are those who discredit a style or a way of playing and those who accept all the different styles.

Those who manage to keep the offensive and defensive balance are more successful. We search for balance in order to keep a stable level, which is the most difficult thing to do.

I would never close the door on any job because I like to work, I like football.

A final is a final, and is motivation in itself.

The teams that defend well are as important as those that attack well. If you don't concede goals it is much easier to win but it is all about having balance.

He who brings a style to a club that can't carry it out, he is not a good manager, because he is attacking the club that hires him.

It's hard for me to interact with players who don't give themselves completely. The weak don't interest me.

The hardest thing in life is reinventing yourself and staying at the top of your game, whilst the hardest thing in football is finding that club you want to stay at.

The player and coach must understand each other.

I believe in working individually with players. If I see improvement, that is the most important title.

Always winning isn't good, you must win fighting.

As in the great battles, the best doesn't always win, the most convincing does.

He who brings a style to a club that can't carry it out, he is not a good manager, because he is attacking the club that hires him.

From the first moment you accept to join a club, the best thing you can do and the most respectful thing to do is ask yourself: 'What is the history behind this club?'

The game must be played with the knife between the teeth on the pitch.

Talent and technique are one thing, but fans will always reward effort.

As a player it is easy. You only think of yourself. The coach has to think of everything.

Games aren't won by those who play well, but by those who play safe.

I'd rather play well than play cute.

When coaches arrive at a club, we need to understand its history. If we don't understand it, then we are destined to have a bad time.

Sometimes, there isn't respect for our ways, but you can't change people.

When the opposition team sense that there is fear, they take advantage without mercy.

Talent has to be accompanied by effort as well, and that's shared around when you work as a team.

As a coach you need to choose the characteristics your players can contribute. I don't think it's a good thing for a coach to analyse his team by looking for something he sees in other teams. He has to pay close attention to the characteristics his team have, and make the most of those.

Every footballer has their own identity. A Uruguayan player is different to a Spanish player. A Portuguese player may be similar to a Spanish one, but not the same - and so on.

As a player, you can be more spontaneous and instinctive, but now as a coach I have to find a psychological balance within the team.

Defeats are always tough, whatever you have lost, and they affect me the same way they affect anyone who loses a match - no more or less.

Whenever a fellow coach is sacked it is not good for any of us - it hurts. You just have to accept it because it is part of the game.

Fans can't score a goal but they have energy.

The characteristics of people according to their star sign are similar, and we pay attention to how we can get the best out of them.

Diego Simeone quotes on Ronaldo and Messi

In every generation, young football fans argue endlessly about who is the best player of the history of football. In our generation the debate is between

and

fans. The Argentinian mastermind has praised both Messi and Ronaldo many times in his interviews. He has said that he believes Messi is an all-together better player than Ronaldo. Here are

Diego Simeone

quotes on Ronaldo

and Lionel Messi.

Messi alone is more dangerous than Real Madrid's attacking trio Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale.

Diego (Maradona) has filled us with emotions. But between the cracks, without doubt, Messi is better than Maradona.

Messi is the number one. No other player is close to him.

Maradona and Messi played in different times and in different positions. Messi is much more a striker, Diego was all over the entire pitch. They are two extraordinary players.

It's difficult to get ready to face a player like Cristiano Ronaldo. He's a goal animal.

If I had to choose between Messi and Ronaldo, then most likely I would choose Messi.

Best Quotes from Diego Simeone about famous football players and teams

In this part of our article on we will have a look at the top quotes by Diego Simeone about other football great stars and teams including his comments on Diego Costa and Antoine Greizmann. 

On coaching Real Madrid:

Call me crazy, but I would never coach Real Madrid. I am a fan of Racing and Atletico. I would never coach Independiente and I wouldn’t coach Madrid. It would be foolish.

On Barcelona and Real Madrid dominance in La Liga:

Madrid and Barcelona play in a different league. This is a boring championship for the rest of the supporters who can only aspire to be third or fourth. We’ll have to wait for a different distribution of television money because now the league is only of two.

The difference between us, Madrid and

? 400 million euros of budget.

On Ajax and Barcelona youth systems:

Ajax have a set model, a defined youth programme - Barcelona have one too, and Juventus. And Atletico Madrid do too. Real Madrid don't - because they alternate developing their own players with signing talent.

On Sergio Busquets:

Busquets reads everything. Players like

or Xabi Alonso in midfield have the capacity to read the whole game.

On the prospect of coaching Argentina national team:

At some point, I would like to coach Argentina, but I have to improve as a coach. I would like to do it in the final stretch of my career.

On Antoine Griezmann:

Griezmann is an extraordinary player who adapts to all the needs of the team.

On Diego Costa:

He's an animal, Diego Costa is an animal!

Diego Costa always gives us physical and moral strength. He is a very important player for the character he transmits to the team, and his potential as a football player.

On Jurgen Klopp:

A coach I admire? Jurgen Klopp. No doubt.

On Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho:

I went a week to see Mourinho at training, and another week with Guardiola. I learned from the two, I took important things from both.

Whether you like Mourinho's style or not is open to discussion but he has won in different places and this has a lot of merit.

On Jan Oblak:

It's like Barcelona who have Messi. He decides games with his attacking play;

resolves them with his saves.

Best quotes from Diego Simeone about Atletico Madrid

We wrap up our article on the

Best Diego Simeone quotes

with a collection of his most famous comments about Atletico Madrid, at which he has been the manager since 2011.

It's not easy to play for Atletico. Talent is not enough, the bar is very high.

For Altetico to keep wining we can only do one thing - work and fight.

Catania was a real learning curve. I grew amid difficulties. In terms of courage and ideas, a lot about my Atleti comes from Italy.

I'm very happy in charge at Atletico. The squad give me commitment, talent and style.

I want to thank the mothers of these players because they gave birth to them with balls this big [gestures as if holding a football]. The reaction of the team will stick in people's memories. (After beating

3-1 in the UCL Semi-final)

When I reach a Cup final, my players already know what is going to be my headline quote: You don’t play finals, you win them.

Players do not change the Atleti shirt, they had to give me two, mine was better.

A player who prefers to be comfortable at a small club where he is the big fish in a small pond will watch cup finals on television.

The members of our group who are substitutes on the bench or in the stands, are just as important as the starting XI. Titles are not won with only eleven players. The entire team wins them.

Finding myself in a final with Atletico makes me happy. Why? Because I know the feelings of all the people at the club - because I know how the players feel. They need to see their team as champions, so we have more fans every day.

I don't drive a truck, I drive a team of footballers who work for a major club like

.

I demand a lot and we look to improve, but I'm glad that Atleti are expected to be among the best every year.

We aspire to be an annoying team.

Of course, becoming champions is something we all want, but I think that the best 'championship' for a manager is to see players like Koke, Lucas Hernandez,

- lads who have come up from all the way down in the lower divisions - become professionals of a high standard.

It's not enough to just have talent at Atletico Madrid. At other clubs it is, but we can't sign superstars and have to look for players with a good work ethic.

So here was our article on the

Diego Simeone quotes.

Which part did you like the most? Any quotes you want to add to the list? Let us know in the comments section.

Read More:

Follow 

 for the