How Diego Simeone can cap extraordinary evolution with biggest prize of all

{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/diego-simeone-cap-extraordinary-evolution-072323028.html","headline":"How Diego Simeone can cap extraordinary evolution with biggest prize of all","datePublished":"2026-04-28T08:36:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-28T08:36:10.000Z","keywords":["Diego Simeone","Champions League","Premier League","Champions League finals","Arsene Wenger","Atletico Madrid","Mikel Arteta","Atleti","Diego Godin","Barcelona","Arsenal","Julian Alvarez","Griezmann","Paris Saint-Germain","Ademola Lookman","Cristiano Ronaldo","Bayern Munich","Lionel Messi","Manchester City","Juanfran","Inter","Koke"],"description":"Simeone has presided over several distinct eras at the helm of Atletico and winning the Champions League would be a reward for an astonishing journey","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Yahoo Sports","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/cv/apiv2/default/icons/favicon_y112_112.png","width":112,"height":112},"url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Jolly","url":"","jobTitle":""},"creator":{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Jolly","url":"","jobTitle":""},"provider":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Independent","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/us-sport","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":477,"height":100,"url":"https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-07/c07edac0-3532-11ee-9f3d-9b3a3cc7fbbb"}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/C8tty2pHsw3UrYoNoCPXTg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xNjAwO2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_us_sports_articles_270/a3f7f02f548054ef6565b45b17c4b83e","height":800,"width":1200},"thumbnailUrl":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/C8tty2pHsw3UrYoNoCPXTg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xNjAwO2NmPXdlYnA-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_us_sports_articles_270/a3f7f02f548054ef6565b45b17c4b83e"}Story byHow Diego Simeone can cap extraordinary evolution with biggest prize of allDiego Simeone could still lift one trophy which has eluded him (Getty)Richard JollyTue, April 28, 2026 at 8:36 AM UTC·5 min readFootball’s most prestigious trophies are not lifetime achievement awards. If they were, Mikel Arteta and Diego Simeone may see a glint of silverware in spring. Arteta’s three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League and back-to-back semi-finals in the Champions League can lend themselves to the idea he deserves to win a major prize. But so does the man in the opposite dugout at the Metropolitano.Along with Massimiliano Allegri, Simone Inzaghi and Albert Batteux, Diego Simeone is in the select group who have reached two Champions League finals but won none. Only one manager has taken charge of more games in the competition without winning it: Arsene Wenger. And if that explains why Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are arguably the two biggest clubs – in the modern environment, anyway – to never become European champions, there is a chance for one to change that.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_63iudcaanpfiv65bH1_ { display: none; } @media screen and (max-width: 767.95px) { #_R_63iudcaanpfiv65bH1_ { display: flex; } iframe { max-width: 100vw; } }The odds may be that it isn’t Simeone. Atletico Madrid, a distant fourth in LaLiga, who came 14th in the Champions League’s initial phase, who were beaten at home by Bodo/Glimt, who have, including a penalty…

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