GOAL reported that Diego Simeone is one Spanish league victory away from 344 wins, a figure that would see him equal Luis Aragones at Atletico Madrid. Simeone's first appearance on the Atletico bench was on 15 January 2012.
One win from 344
GOAL said that, according to Marca, the total would equal Luis Aragones' number as the Atletico legend and the coach with the most victories in the history of the competition. GOAL also said Simeone would reach that figure having played around 192 matches fewer than Aragones.
League record under Simeone
GOAL said Simeone has won the Spanish league title twice in 14 years. GOAL said he also has a win rate of around 61%.
What fellow coaches said
Julen Lopetegui, the Qatar national team coach, said: "Diego's value does not lie in numbers alone, but in his ability to maintain the same ambition and competitive spirit within the same club for many years."
The Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui said: "Regardless of the head-to-head encounters and the statistics, when we used to meet, we knew the match would be an enormous challenge for any coach. Atletico Madrid demanded that you reach the highest degrees of perfection and pushed you to your very limits. Simeone has deserved the standing he has reached in the Spanish league thanks to the work he has put in throughout these years."
Imanol Alguacil, the Olympiacos coach, said: "Atletico Madrid's growth since Diego took charge of the team has been astonishing. He planted within it a competitive spirit that made it a regular presence in the Champions League over many long years."
Alguacil also said: "A coach lasting at a club for this long means that it is not about results alone, but also requires an enormous effort and a strong sense of belonging, which prevents the emergence of doubts at the decisive moments."
Alguacil said: "With the passage of time and the changing of players, Simeone has always succeeded in extracting the best from his team and adapting tactically, so as to maintain his competitive ability over many long years."
Further praise
Paco Jemez, the coach of Morocco's Raja, said: "Time and results are the best proof of what Simeone offers. I wish him many more years, because he is a coach who gives the Spanish league added value, and I hope he continues to succeed and break records."
Jemez said: "It is astonishing to find a coach who continues all this time and achieves this much success. It has become extremely difficult to find a coach who can stay many years with a big team, working under enormous pressure, while maintaining the same level year after year. He is a wonderful coach, and he proves it day after day. He has found the place where he feels completely at ease, as if he were a fish in water, and I can only praise what he offers."
Diego Martinez, former Granada coach, said: "I would like to highlight in particular the tactical variety Simeone has offered, and his ability to reinvent himself according to the quality of the players he has worked with, and to develop the style of play within Atletico Madrid's distinctive identity."
Martinez added: "The most important thing for me is that his teams always convey a clear message, inspire the players and connect with the fans. They are teams that enjoy the highest degrees of competitiveness, and maintaining this spirit for consecutive years is exceptional by every measure."
Martinez said: "I believe that what Simeone has achieved will not acquire its true value until after he leaves. As a coach, he has contributed to making one of the giants of Spanish football bigger and greater. It has been an enormous and gradual growth, in a way that has made the club's current ambitions and aspirations completely different from what they were 15 years ago."
He continued: "With the passing of the years, this period will be studied as a success story in the history of modern football, not only from a sporting perspective, but also at an institutional level. To be a coach of a club and achieve all this success season after season is truly impressive."
