Unfinished Business: Players Who Have Returned to Their Clubs
There are few feel-good stories in football as those of players who have returned to their clubs, finishing the unfinished, or helping in times of need.
When talking about overhauling the club, the famous phrase "trust the process" that comes from the NBA is what comes to mind nowadays. It's sometimes mentioned in a joking context, especially when, for example, we have clubs like Arsenal, who tell their fans exactly that. Have some patience and trust in clubs dealings and we will prevail. Well, what Simeone did and is still doing with Atletico is going to be a benchmark for years to come.
To be fair, Atletico won before Simeone but the times were a little bit different. Players were more loyal and the superclubs were not as richer and didn't have their B squads of the quality that they have today. So clubs like Atletico were able to have their stars who would stay for a long time. Today, if you are any good at the age of 15,16, you are already on the radar of all of the "elite" 10-15 clubs in Europe. It's almost impossible for clubs to hold the players for a long time because of the amount of money tempting them to go is absurd. And to be completely honest, it is mostly about money.
Yet, what Simeone did with his coaching and leadership is being able to turn, not so attractive, not so super talented and not so sought-after players into world-class players. To be even more precise, he was able to make them look so good, that the richest clubs were willing to pay ONE BILLION euros for Simeone-made players.
Simeone took a club that was not even a clear third in Spain in terms of wealth to a point where they are financially more stable than Real Madrid and Barcelona. Something possible only in video games. And not only financially. He was able to challenge for La Liga every season since his first title that came in three and a half years after he took the club. He was also just an unlucky penalty and an unlucky corner away from winning the Champions League, twice.
So if you are a club in need of a rebuild and constant growth, you better find someone like Simeone and you better trust them. Cause we haven't seen anyone else do it. Not like this.
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