A downbeat Diego Simeone did not confirm whether he wanted to continue as Atlético Madrid coach on Saturday after enduring a second agonising Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid in three years.
After Atlético came from a goal behind to take the game into extra time at 1-1, it was Real who prevailed 5-3 in the penalty shootout, adding to Atlético’s pain of the 4-1 defeat against their city rivals in the 2014 final in Lisbon.
Simeone, who has won every major trophy with Atlético in his 4½ years in charge apart from the Champions League, cast his future at the club into doubt when asked if he had thought about resigning.
“Do I have to continue with Atlético or is it the end of a cycle? I have to think about that,” Simeone told a news conference. “It’s a logical question for you to ask after a defeat like the one we’ve suffered today.
“I feel proud of my players. Quite frankly I love my players. It’s obvious that they’ve given everything that they have, and they always give everything they have. We had the chance to become champions, we didn’t take that chance.”
‘Nobody remembers losers’
“We need to continue working, I have to think things out on my part. That’s what I’m doing now. What is clear to me is that nobody remembers the losers. Losing two finals is a failure. We have to get over this and heal our wounds.”
Although he offered his congratulations to Real, Simeone could not hide his disappointment at losing another final in such cruel circumstances.
“You do your best, you try to do what you can, you get to two finals and you lose them both,” he said. “One you lose 4-1, even though it was 2-1 for a long time, the other you lose on penalties.
“This cycle for me at Atlético, two finals in three years, is actually a marvellous achievement, but I am not happy with what I have achieved.”
Atlético won the La Liga title in 2014, breaking Barcelona’s and Real Madrid’s nine-year stranglehold on the trophy.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says winning the Champions League is equal to lifting the World Cup in his footballing achievements.
Player and manager
Zidane, who only took over from the sacked
Rafael Benitez
in January, has won the Champions League as both a player and manager for Real.
“At the end getting the Champions League is the best along with winning the World Cup,” said the Frenchman, a world champion in 1998.
“After all the work we did I am very proud, it has been a phenomenal job. I’m happy because I’ve been part of this great club for a long time now. I feel really very proud.”
Zidane managed to finish the season on a high after domestic disappointment, although questions still remain about his long-term future at the Bernabeu.
“The future? We’ll see, now let’s enjoy this,” he added.
“Of course I dreamed. You always have to dream, think positive, be optimistic, and know that things can get done with work and effort.
“I’m very happy for everything we’ve achieved together. It’s not easy at all. We’ve really worked hard, fought it out. When you have players of this calibre, with this talent, you can achieve something big like we have tonight.”
Ronaldo paid tribute to Zidane. “I had a vision. I knew I was going to score the winning goal,” he said. “I asked [Zidane] to let me take the fifth penalty because I was going to score the winning goal. Zidane has done a phenomenal job. He deserves it, he has humility and I’m happy for him.”
