Diego Simeone, Atletico Snubbed Again as Joachim Low Wins FIFA Coach of the Year

Atletico Madrid may have won La Liga last season and come within a whisker of capturing the Champions League as well, but based on their records at subsequent award galas, it's as if they didn't exist.

On Monday, at the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, Rojiblancos manager Diego Simeone was passed over as Germany boss Joachim Low was named Coach of the Year for 2014.

It was just the latest bit of disrespect shown to Atletico, but it was not at all unexpected.

Low, quite impressively, guided Germany to World Cup glory in Brazil. Along the way he made some important decisions, including the position of captain Philipp Lahm, the use of Benedikt Howedes as a left-back, Christoph Kramer's deployment from the start against Argentina and Andre Schurrle's regular involvement from the bench.

As a World Cup-winning coach, he joined an incredibly exclusive club, and no one will deny he was deserving of Monday's recognition.

Just not as deserving as Simeone, who, according to Metro, garnered only 19.02 percent of votes cast for the gong compared with 22.06 percent for Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti and Low's 36.23 percent.

The gap between the Argentine and fellow finalists revealed the extent to which his accomplishments have yet to be appreciated, never mind those of the club with which he has attained them.

Low, quite frankly, delivered a success that wasn't altogether unexpected and, in some circles, at all surprising. Simeone, meanwhile, displaced Primera Division heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona to win a title no one expected Atletico to even contend for, and he backed up his league record with a remarkable run in Europe.

Shockingly, his players were shut out of the LFP Awards gala in October, although he managed to pip Ancelotti to Coach of the Year honours.

Thibaut Courtois, however, was beaten by Keylor Navas in the goalkeeping category, defenders Miranda and Filipe Luis lost out to Sergio Ramos (Diego Godin wasn't among the finalists), defensive midfielder Gabi was beat in the voting by Luka Modric, and Koke finished behind Andres Iniesta as attacking midfielder of the year—a snub that was particularly ridiculous.

"I want to share this [award] with my technical team and also with my players: Courtois, Miranda, Gabi, Koke," said Simeone in a rather defiant acceptance speech that night, as per The Independent.

He didn't even have the chance to acknowledge his players on Monday.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Quite unfairly, Godin was once again passed over when the FIFA/FIFPro World XI was named, and his omission was made especially glaring by the shock inclusion of David Luiz, who shouldn't have been anywhere near the ceremony. And Iniesta, who somehow found himself on stage once again, had no business in the all-star team's midfield ahead of Gabi and Koke.

Perhaps this is why Atletico play with such a chip on their shoulder—this exclusion from the popularity contests. By now they're accustomed to a lack of respect, just as Madrid and Barcelona are becoming accustomed to feeling the Colchoneros' breath down their necks.

But victory for Simeone in Zurich would have gone some way toward recognising the magnitude of what Atletico have done these last few months. That it eluded him only serves to reinforce the notion that awards are handed out based mainly on prestige, with enormity of achievement almost an afterthought.