Simeone: ‘I’ll Coach Lazio’

By Football Italia staff

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone says he’ll return to Lazio as Coach one day - ‘it’s only a matter of time’.

The former midfielder has been a revelation in his time on the bench at Vicente Calderon, guiding Atleti to the title last season, and the tactician says he’ll return to the Aquile in the future.

“Lazio was a fantastic part of my career,” Simeone recalled in an interview with Lazialità.

“It’s one of the places where I spent the most time, I had four wonderful years there. The people always loved me, and slowly I was able to make them appreciate me as a player.

“I scored important goals which people will never forget. In Rome I had teammates and coaches who changed the philosophy of Italian football.

“Before, only Milan and Juventus ever won [the Scudetto]. With our arrival we changed that narrative, and also allowed others, those who live close to us [Roma] to do the same.

“I have many friends in Rome, and I’m sure that one day I’ll Coach Lazio, because that’s life.

“It happened when I went to a club like Atletico Madrid, where I had been [as a player] and given my everything to do well, so it could also happen with Lazio.

“I’m convinced that you go back to those places where you have a past as a player. I behave the same way in football and in life.

“I will return to Lazio, it’s only a matter of time. Right now I’m very happy at Atletico Madrid, but life is long, and one day I’ll be there, dressed in black as always.”

Simeone also reflected on the Biancocelesti’s dramatic 2000 Scudetto, where they pipped Juventus by a point on the last day.

The Bianconeri’s game was delayed by a monumental downpour, and with Lazio having already won, the Old Lady went down 1-0 to Perugia.

“The best part was waiting for the end of Perugia-Juventus in the dressing room. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

“It was amazing, because we knew we could do it. We were convinced that something would happen, because we deserved that title.

“Regrets? The Champions League, no doubt about it. The team we had could have done better.

“That year we won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa, but we lost in the Champions League against Valencia.

“We went to Spain with a lot of injured players, and we couldn’t do it. We won a lot, everything except the Champions League, but maybe we could have won something more.”

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