Simeone: 32 years of passion LaLiga Made debut in September 1987 for Velez

Thirty-two years ago, on September 13, 1987, Diego Simeone made his official debut as a professional player and has since gone on to establish himself as a massive figure in the world of football.

Aged 17, he played his first game with Velez in a 2-1 defeat against Gimnasia, but his strong personality would lead him to success both as a player and a coach.

"Everything in my career I took it as something natural: from my debut to my arrival to the national team," El Cholo told El Grafico.

When he was 15, a legend of Argentine football, Victorio Spinetto, predicted that Simeone would go on to play in the top flight within a couple of years and that's just what he did.

He made the leap to Europe with Pisa at the age of 20 and moved two years later to Sevilla, who were his springboard on the old continent.

His winning character, dedication, enthusiasm, restlessness and motivation would lead him to Atletico Madrid, with whom he won the domestic double.

Those two titles, along with the 1991 Copa America victory with Argentina and the Serie A title with Lazio, were among his greatest feats as a football player.

At Inter, he played as a sweeper for the first time, before his second spell at Atletico, where he also featured in the same position under Gregorio Manzano.

Meanwhile, he scored a vitals goals against Piacenza and Juventus in Serie A, to lead Lazio to one of the two league titles in their history.

As a coach, he has won seven trophies with Atletico Madrid, after clinching an Apertura with Estudiantes La Plata in 2006 and another with River Plate two years later.

"There is one thing that I am obsessed with," he once said to explain his mentality.

"It is that of 'I no longer have to prove anything'.

"In life you have to prove yourself until you die."