Diego Simeone would be a massive hit in the Premier League - if he learns English.
Kieran Trippier says his former boss at Atletico Madrid transformed his game with brilliant man management and passion, and could one day take charge of an elite side in England. Trippier has revealed the detailed personal attention Simeone gave him during their title winning season in Spain.
Newcastle defender Trippier said: “I’d love to see him in the Premier League because I think he would be unbelievable. Simeone was incredible with me. He knew how I played. He changed my game defensively. He changed my game and the work I did individually, and I learned so much from him
“His man management was incredible. We lived in a compound called La Finca in Madrid. It was like St George’s Park, lakes fields and stuff. You’d see him on walks and try to chat. His wife speaks perfect English. Can he manage in England one day? I would love to see it. He is a manager who has to speak fluently because he wants to get his message across. If he couldn’t get his point across he would get agitated, frustrated."
Trippier loved his time in Spain, a rare English export, and won La Liga, a career highlight. He added: “When the opportunity came to go to Madrid, I thought yes, go for it. A lot of people disagreed with it, saying it was a bad move. But you can throw me in at the deep end and it doesn’t matter. I didn’t know the language and had a translator for a time. With Simeone you couldn't get away with anything.
"One-to-one, the night before we went for the title against Valladolid he pulled me in. He showed me a video of when I signed, the press conference, where I said what I wanted to achieve with Atletico Madrid. I said that day I wanted to win the title. He remembered that and wanted to remind me. That moment spurred me on against Valladolid in that decisive last game, and we won it. Little details like that get the extra percentage out of players. He is very clever.”
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Tripper has had thousands watching training every day in Madrid and said it helped him personally gain a better understanding of how to handle big occasions. He added “I am used to it. Pressure and expectation I can deal with.
"This club, for god knows how many years, has not had the success it could have. With the changes here there is a bright future but we need patience as well. It is a building project.
"Same with Man City years ago. They built the right way and we will too. It would be easy to take over a club like ours and go to top top players. That won’t happen. We have to be realistic. It will take a few years. But it is only upwards now."
Trippier played well in a Newcastle side that lost 3-2 in a friendly to Benfica on Tuesday night. So what is a realistic hope for this season, after £140m of spending this year including Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman? “This is a funny question.” he says. “I understand what the fans expect and demand. People have to realise the takeover has just happened.
"We just stayed up, well, comfortably in the end, but the position we were in in January...As a player I don’t want to get too far ahead. We need to keep building gradually. We know how far the club can go, but we know how demanding this Premier League is. You can't take anything for granted.
“For sure we don’t want to be in a relegation fight. Every game is tough. You want to finish top half of course! Minimum? You always want to set the standards high. Europe and all that… sometimes you have to be realistic, because the league is so powerful. But step by step we will get there, we just need a bit of patience.
"Every team in this league has spending power and it is the best in the world. Look at the top half and how powerful they are. I understand the fans' expectations but patience and step by step.”
