Diego Simeone Addresses Criticism Ahead of Osasuna Match
Diego Simeone walked into the press room on Tuesday with the air of a man who has heard enough. On the eve of a tricky La Liga home clash with Osasuna, the Atletico Madrid coach faced questions on injuries, selection and a growing tide of criticism – and answered all of them head-on.
No Julian Alvarez for Osasuna
The first issue was the big one. Would Julian Alvarez make it back in time?
Simeone shut that down quickly, as relayed by Spanish daily Marca. After talks with the medical staff, the Argentine forward remains in the recovery phase and will not be available for Wednesday’s match. No debate, no late fitness test drama. He is out.
That immediately pushed the focus onto the other main option up front, Jonathan David. Simeone praised the Canadian’s impact in Atletico’s last outing and made it clear he is firmly in the frame. The staff will decide on Wednesday morning whether David starts or comes on in the second half, but he is central to the plan either way.
“We’ve become used to the negativity”
Atletico have taken six points from a possible nine away from home, yet the noise around the team has been anything but calm. Questions over the calendar, rest days, performances and style have all swirled around Simeone in recent weeks.
He drew a sharp line between the reality of the schedule and the narrative around it.
He stressed that his earlier comments were not about the difficulty of the fixtures themselves but about the lack of rest – late returns from San Sebastian and from the Champions League, the physical toll, the quick turnarounds. That, he insisted, is natural.
What he finds less natural is the tone of the debate. Simeone spoke of a constant readiness in some quarters to pounce on any sign of weakness. Atletico, he said, have become used to that negativity, and when a chance to criticise appears, it quickly surfaces. For him, that pressure is now simply part of the club’s development. They accept it. They even “welcome” it.
A team under construction
Behind the results lies a squad in flux. Simeone did not hide from that.
Seven players have left, five new signings have arrived, and several academy products have been folded into the first team. From the outside, that might look like a routine summer. From the inside, the coach insisted, it is anything but simple.
He described Atletico as a team under construction, a competitive side that will improve as the matches pile up. He feels they are in a genuine building phase, one that demands time – the one thing, he added pointedly, that modern football rarely grants.
Call to arms for the fans
Osasuna arrive in a similar situation, searching for rhythm and points. That, for Simeone, makes the atmosphere inside the Metropolitano even more important.
He called on the Atletico fans to deliver their usual surge of energy, especially with the team coming off a difficult match. The players, he said, must turn that noise into intensity and aggression on the pitch. A strong performance against an opponent “going through the same need as us” is the target. The crowd, in his eyes, will be decisive.
Mourinho, penalties and a shrug
There was also room for a lighter moment. Asked about Jose Mourinho’s surprise that journalists had not pressed him on penalties awarded to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Simeone simply laughed. He had “nothing to say or comment on” regarding the controversy. No fuel added to that fire.
No doubt over the Ballon d’Or
On the Ballon d’Or, though, there was no hesitation.
Simeone named Lionel Messi as his clear favourite “without the slightest doubt”. The World Cup, the performances at his age – for the Atletico coach, the choice is obvious. Messi, and no one else.
Adapting to the long break
Simeone finished by circling back to the calendar. A three-week stoppage is new territory for him and his squad, but he insisted they will adapt. The players, he said, have total desire. This, with all its quirks and demands, is the world they chose.
Atletico go into the Osasuna clash sitting fifth in La Liga with 10 points from five games – three wins, one draw, one defeat. The table says they are in touch. The coach says they are still being built.
Now the question is simple: can this unfinished version of Atletico turn defiance into momentum before the season’s real storm arrives?
