Jose Mourinho, Diego Simeone Swap Idea Wouldn't Benefit Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid are never far from rumour and speculation, such is the level of quality throughout both on and off the field.

Diego Simeone has built a competitive team and an exciting young side over the past few years, so it's little surprise that both he and the players involved are continually linked with moves away, with Chelsea the latest to covet the Argentinian manager, according to Fichajes.net (h/t Metro), who cite a potential swap deal on the cards for the clubs' coaches.

Jose Mourinho to Atletico and Simeone to Chelsea is intriguing to imagine, but it's one that simply won't happen—not in the coming weeks, and not any time soon.

Similarities

The ideals of Mourinho and Simeone aren't hugely far removed, even if they go about their jobs in different ways. Both like to have a solid defensive platform to perform from, both managers tend to use a double pivot in midfield and ask for creativity from the wider players and both have enjoyed tremendous success with a predominantly counter-attacking outlook.

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Crucially, both have also won major honours in the game, are hugely respected for their coaching skills and have been in reasonably recent European finals.

The (current) starting tactics aren't exactly aligned, but both have shown flexibility along their path to suggest each could make plenty of use out of the available options in either squad, so it's far from outlandish to suggest they wouldn't impress.

Even so, there's no chance it will happen in a direct swap—and while Chelsea haven't yet given any indication they'll even look to displace Mourinho, Atleti's stance is even more clear-cut.

Why Atleti won't budge

A new deal handed to Simeone in March of last year was a statement on both sides: Simeone believed he still had more work to do, more to achieve at the Vicente Calderon, and the club obviously still trusted implicitly in his methods and decision-making.

Per BBC Sport, the time of the new contract saw club president Enrique Cerezo state "Nobody embodies the values of our club more so than Simeone," while the manager himself said "I am here because I'm convinced the club will continue to grow."

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There have recently been strong transfers and a gradual shift toward a new, younger set of players who can progress and improve over the coming seasons, but all of whom already have the talent to contribute to ongoing success. Simeone is the common factor, the individual who unites and transcends the older group of stars—Diego Godin, Tiago, Gabi—who have already earned success at Atleti, and the newer faces—Oliver Torres, Luciano Vietto, Yannick Carrasco—who could herald an extended era of winning trophies.

Why Atleti wouldn't benefit

Stylistically, as noted, the two managers may have similarities—but in terms of their use of players, their outlook on youth and their approach to team building, they couldn't be more different.

The group of players Atleti have between 18 and 24 is incredible, and a number of them have come through the academy system or at least part-educated in their footballing youth by the club. Koke is the outstanding member of that group, but Saul, Oliver and Lucas Hernandez are all there, too, while the likes of Nacho Monsalve, Xin Xu and more are still trying to progress from B team to seniors.

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Mourinho, it can be said, does not have the greatest track record in easing through youngsters to become regular first-teamers.

There is also the matter of Mourinho's current struggles at Chelsea to consider. It's foolish to suggest he's done, finished with as a manager—but similarly, the impact of this season cannot be underestimated.

This is the first time Mourinho has really had to recover from a prolonged bad spell, and he has no previous form to guide him back to the top; it's something new he needs to discover for himself. It would be a gamble for Atleti to take on the Portuguese boss, even with his prior history of winning, immediately following this downturn in form at Chelsea, without him having first bounced back and taken the Blues back up the table.

All of that doesn't even mention, of course, the loss of continuity that will come whenever Simeone does depart the scene—and the players who may follow him out the door.

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