Hoy y siempre, Atlético de Madrid

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Diego Simeone resigns as manager of Atletico Madrid after two and a half seasons.
The move comes at a surprising time and left the supporters shocked as the Argentinian experienced his most successful season as a manager ever, leading his side to two astonishing achievements - a spot in Champions League final but a loss to their local rivals, Real Madrid, denied Gabi from lifting the prestigious trophy however his side triumphed over Real Madrid and Barcelona in the race for the La Liga trophy and won the club's first championship since the double season in 1995/1996 when Simeone was a player in a team guided by the Serbian club's icon, Radomir Antic.

The 41-year-old former Argentina and Atletico Madrid captain transformed Los Colchoneros into an aggressive, committed and quick on the break which he pledged to execute, once he took the reins off his predecessor, Gregorio Manzano in 2011.
The club enjoyed an almost three-years spell with Cholo on the sidelines, winning a UEFA Europa League, a UEFA Supercup, a Copa del Rey and a spectacular La Liga championship respectively.

Atletico has lost four key players this summer who had played a big role in the team's great campaign last year as Thibaut Courtois finished his time on a loan and moved back to Chelsea along with Diego Costa and Filipe Luis who joined the Premier League side as well for a combined fee of £47.8M. The fourth player was Spain's all-time top goalscorer, David Villa, whose contract expired and he left for New York City from the Major League Soccer.

Simeone had his replacements for each player who departed from the team during the summer. Benfica's Slovenian goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, took over Courtois' spot between the posts for a reported fee of €17M and Guilherme Siqueira left Estadio da Luz with Oblak for a confirmed fee of €10.5M.
Alessio Cerci topped Seria A's 2013/2014 top assists list and attracted the attention of Diego Simeone who landed the Italian winger in Vicente Calderon for €16.5M but according to Simeone, he is a long term signing thus he was loaned to A.C Milan to further his development.

The last two signings were the biggest transfers of Atletico Madrid in this transfer window, Antoine Griezmann linked up with capital city side from his childhood club, Real Sociedad for a €31.5M. The other signing and arguably Atletico's biggest buy is the prolific Croatian striker of Bayern Munich, Mario Mandzukic, for a price of €23M.
However the return of Vicente Calderon's legend and a player who was crowned to a king by many fans, Fernando Torres, beat both last signings despite coming on a season-long loan. El Nino drew 45,000 enthusiastic fans to the home stadium, Vicente Calderon when his unveiling occured to witness the moment they had wished for, ever since he left in 2007.


The future around Vicente Calderon is unclear and foggy at the moment as the managerial post is left vacant however it is reported the club's chairman, Enrique Cerezo, is having talks with some managers to replace the Argentinian.
According to a source, Cerezo will unveil Diego Simeone's successor in the up-coming week in a press conference.

A large question mark is hanging around Vicente Calderon about Los Colchoneros' next manager, there is many rumors and speculations about the identity to fill in Simeone's place and according to sources, Atletico's board have a list of managers they're negotiating with at this moment but it is not known yet who it will be.
The list was compiled by Enrique Cerezo and Jose Luis Caminero and it includes Atletico's former manager who a short spell in the club, Claudio Ranieri.
Radomir Antic who managed the club in a double season back in 1995/1996 has made it into the list. The third candidate is an ex-Atletico player who had managed four La Liga teams, most recently was Malaga and it is Bernd Schuster.

It has been reported that Caminero reached out to Rafa Benitez on behalf of Atletico's chairman, Enrique Cerezo but the Spaniard denied the opportunity to manage La Liga champions. Rafa Benitez has released a statement to the press following the reports of him being linked to Atletico Madrid:

"It is true Atletico negotiated with me for the managerial post at Vicente Calderon but I will not take the opportunity as I'm under a contract in Napoli for the next season, I want to stay committed and loyal to Valencia as well."

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Good Luck !

Good luck! Very nice start, hopefully you can get Torres firing.

Following the departure of Diego Simeone, Bernd Schuster was appointed as Atletico Madrid manager on Tuesday according to the club website, clubatleticodemadrid.com.
The Blonde Angel has experience with Spanish football, having played for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico respectively. He also had managed in La Liga, taking Real Madrid to its 31st league title back in 2008/2009 and managing Getafe during the team's best two seasons in history. The former international player had also short stints with Levante and Malaga where he failed to reach the board's expectations.

The 55-year-old German, who played for Los Rojiblancos in a 3-year-spell between 1990 to 1993 and won two Copa del Rey, will take up the role on next week after signing an one-year contract.
Bernd Schuster is not only tasked with replacing fan-favourite Diego Simeone but with defending the La Liga title from Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Schuster was introduced at a press conference at the Vicente Calderon by club president Eenrique Cerezo on Wednesday. The newly appointed manager answered questions and told the media he was "happy to return to Atletico Madrid and I am excited to visit Vicente Calderon again."

"Diego has done the unbelievable by winning league championship and it will be a very hard job to reproduce his success but I think I am the right man for this job. The board has shown his support by hiring me and I appreciate it but I do need to earn the trust of the fans," said ecstatic Schuster.

Bernd continued talking to the press, "Atletico has underwent a transformation by Diego Simeone, turning into an aggressive and defensive styled team with emphasis on counter breaks and it was greatly effective but I want to show the world Atletico can beat their arch rivals, Barcelona and Real Madrid, with attracting and attacking football."

Club president Enrique Cerezo praised his chosen manager, "Bernd is an ambitious, intelligent and diligent person and he was the leading candidate to replace Simeone who I want thank for his time in our club. I firmly believe Bernd will do only good for Atletico Madrid and I'm excited to see what he has got for us."

The new manager has a great squad to work with, despite losing key-players in the form of Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois but former manager Diego Simeone has found replacements.
It is believed not even one manager in the club's history had the same pressure Schuster feels as he is expected to lead the Colchoneros to the heights they reached under his predecessor, club's legend Diego Simeone.

Schuster's work will not be easier with his first official match as an Atletico manager will take place in Santiago Bernabeu against bitter rivals and his former club, Real Madrid, in the first leg of 2014 Supercopa de España. Bernd has more than a month to prepare his side for this clash, with a desire to revenge for his early dismissal.

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lovely graphics, and a great choice of manager - hopefully you'll go far!

jonathanmdp: Thank you!
LFC: Thanks. You, me and the fans all hope so.
TodayAtTomorrow: I will go far and credits to Tallery for the graphics.

Good luck man, will be following closely!

Good luck with Atletico

AaronHJFT96: Thanks, I hope you will.
Glenn T: Thank you!

Ok, I'm eager to see how this develops!

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Bernd Schuster has made his first act as Atlético de Madrid's manager by clearing up his squad with the sales of two midfield players, home-grown Mario Suárez and super-sub Raúl García. The couple completed a move to the Russian Premier League for a combined fee of €33M however each to his own team as Raúl García has been bought by Zenit and his former team-mate, Mario Suárez, will now face him in the shirt of Spartak Moscow.

The first player of the two who departed from La Liga champions is the Spanish midfielder and super-sub, Raúl García, who signed for Russian Premier League side, Zenit Petersburg for €22M.
According to reports in Spain, García has been clarified earlier this week by Schuster that he is out of his plans for the forthcoming season and the two agreed on a move for the sake of both parties. The player has been transfer-listed and few clubs chased the Spaniard however Zenit's offer has convinced him to land in Russia and signing a €67K per week contract.

The 28-year-old could feel surprised at the news he is not wanted anymore as his performances for the club during last year's season were nothing but great, contributing 17 goals and 7 assists in 53 appearences in all competitions as the team lifted La Liga title and finished runners-up in Champions League, following an extra-time defeat to Real Madrid.


The new signing at Petrovsky Stadium has twitted about his new destination:
"I am so happy to sign for Zenit and I look forward to play for the club with my new team-mates in the coming season. I want to thank Atletico for everything they have done for me, from board to supporters because I had a great time there and I wish them best of luck."

The other player who has left is Los Colchoneros' home-grown defensive midfielder, Mario Suárez, who joined Spartak Moscow for a confirmed fee of nearly €11M. He was transfer-listed by Schuster who did not consider him a first-team material and the Russian capital side has bidded on the player and sealed the deal with the player who signed a long-term contract until 2019, earning €33K a week.

The defensive midfielder was given quite a credit by former Atletico's manager, Diego Simeone, during last year's campaign as he recorded 25 appreances for the team with only one appearence as a sub however he didn't feature in Simeone's first-team for Champions League final, nor came on as a substitute.

Mario Suárez is now added to the long list of Spanish giants' players who were sold or left the club during this summer and it is interesting to see who Schuster will bring in to fill the space which the departures created.

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Live long and prosper Garcia

Wow good fee for Garcia, I wonder who will replace the Spanish super sub? and Suarez gone as well brave decisions, good luck

Empyjon: Follow the story and you will find.
dellman: As long as Spartak Moscow won't qualify for CL and face me, I agree.
OMGItsToddzy: Not only brave but wise, I reckon you will like to hear about the replacements. Thanks for comment.

That's a lot of money for those two, so well done Hopefully you can get some good players in with that cash.