Atletico Madrid Must Give Diego Simeone the Strong Squad He Craves

Post-match quotes from managers can swing both ways: an insight into frustration and disappointment, or largely saying nothing at all as they guard against talking in the heat of the moment. Either way, it's not always set in stone that the words they say can be truthful or unchanged after a few days, and that can go double after defeat in a huge fixture.

Say, the UEFA Champions League final.

Following Atletico Madrid's penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid in Milan, manager Diego Simeone suggested he needed to reflect on his time at the club and decide whether it was the "end of a cycle," per AS. 

However, there is little doubt about what the individuals in and around Los Rojiblancos wish for. While media reports remain mixed—Sky's Guillem Balague said Simeone will stay even as Yahoo (h/t AS and Football Espana via Eurosport) reported Paris Saint-Germain were in talks with him—the players and fans all want Simeone to remain in place.

That's exactly what Atletico Madrid need, but for Cholo to remain and realise his ambitions of further success, the club must do everything to give him the star names and create the strong squad he wants to lift La Liga again and the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

Despair and Support

Losing a final is bad enough, but losing two—and in the way Atleti have, last-minute equaliser before defeat in extra time and then the shootout—is worse, especially for those who are forced to reflect, repeat and speculate what could have been done differently. Support is a wonderful thing, though, and Atleti fans have shown no shortage of that.

Fernando Torres, himself not quite yet assured of his future at the club, has said the players all want Simeone to stay. Yannick Carrasco, signed only last summer by Simeone and left out of the final starting XI, echoed those sentiments, while the past couple of years have seen the likes of Diego Godin refuse to move clubs and cite Simeone as a reason on Spanish TV.

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From outside the club, and indeed literally outside the club's grounds, supporters gathered en masse to show a wave of continuing belief for the beaten coach.

They showed the same sense of togetherness with right-back Juanfran, who missed the vital penalty in the showdown and was immediately propelled to one of the biggest-selling shirts at the club, according to Marca.

It's all about appealing to the better nature of Simeone and showing him this is where he belongs, where togetherness and fighting for the same cause in the face of defeat is as much a part of his in-game mantra as his menacing prowling of the touchline is.

Big Names and Numbers

Supporters and players are one thing, but between winning the league title in 2014 and now, Atletico have just fallen short of the biggest prizes and only closing the gap in terms of quality can fill the void where silverware should sit.

It's an open secret Atletico need more firepower. The best defence in Europe is already theirs, tactically as well as individually, and the club must make funds available to bring in the named attackers the manager wants.

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Diego Costa and Edinson Cavani head the list of strikers who most interest the club and coach, with one or the other likely to arrive, but the Mirror's Ed Malyon claimed Alexis Sanchez is also a major target.

Stylistically he'd be an immense fit for Atleti and would guarantee a step-up in quality, but where Cavani can be offered a guaranteed centre-forward role that he craves, Atletico would have to pay a huge sum for Alexis and trust the lure of challenging his former club Barcelona for trophies is enough, with the Chilean already a vital part of Arsenal's setup, even if success isn't exactly forthcoming at the club.

If Nico Gaitan arrives, he will add goals and ability in the middle line, but Simeone may yet want another addition to ensure his team can go the distance next term.

16-17

Atletico have a reasonably deep squad, made seemingly more shallow by Simeone's lack of needless or fitness-based rotation that other clubs might choose to operate with—Cholo expects and demands his players be capable of running themselves into the ground, twice a week, and emerge with results.

Captain Gabi leads the way, covering a relentless and frankly ridiculous 15 km in the Champions League final, and others must follow suit.

New arrivals don't simply walk into the team; Jackson Martinez was repeatedly subbed and benched before being sold completely, and Luciano Vietto will likely tread the same path over six months longer.

Yannick Carrasco took a month or two to establish himself as a starter, Matias Kranevitter didn't win a spot in the team after only joining halfway through the year and even Saul, a mainstay of the team by season's end, didn't come into the XI until November.

One or two big signings might buck that trend, and maybe Simeone has to tweak tactical aspects of his own game, too.

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Atletico always look far better and more dangerous when they press high rather than defending deep and countering from 70 metres away, which they are capable of doing but which also requires a tough switch in mentality when they do suddenly need to break teams down with sustained possession.

A killer goalscorer is a must, but so is added guile and movement. A brute in attack alone won't cut it, nor will relying on Tiago, just turned 35 and back from six months out, to hit the heights of two years ago.

Atletico need Simeone, that much is clear. Without him they almost have to tear up their plans and start over, not with an entire squad but with the match mentality and approach to game days. The manager is their core, their appeal and embodies their soul like no other. They must keep him happy by spending big and striking gold with the players he wants, and Simeone must repay that trust in silverware.

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