Diego shows why he’s not worth aggro

TYPE the phrase ‘Atletico Madrid coaching staff’ into an internet images search and you will be greeted by a good number that show Diego Simeone and his friends involved in skirmishes and confrontations at various locations around Europe.

Sure, there is a nice photo of Simeone and his men with his arms around each other. More prominent, though, are the images of Simeone and his assistant German Burgos hounding referees, opponents and opposing managers and coaches.

So there was nothing new in the sly physicality of Atletico’s play or the behaviour of those pawing the ground in the visiting technical area at the Emirates Stadium.

Part of Simeone’s schtick is his intimidation of officials. It has been one of the ways he has sought to use the role of underdog in Madrid to his advantage year on year.

This display of ridiculousness in north London was untimely, though. Simeone has long been admired by Premier League clubs. He is an overachiever — something we once associated with Arsene Wenger.

But reservations about Simeone have always been associated with his character. Arsenal and Chelsea will both be looking for new managers this summer but who would blame them for watching this sideshow and wondering if the Argentine is worth all the aggravation.

Wenger talked about the image of Arsenal as he announced his impending departure last week. They have always had a certain style and grace. Dropping someone like Simeone into the middle of Arsenal’s cut glass and china would feel very strange indeed.

In the opening minutes of this game, French referee Clement Turpin got the big decisions right. Both fouls committed by Sime Vrsaljko were late and reckless. If anyone should have been on the wrong end of Simeone’s displeasure it should have been his player.

Instead, we were soon witnessing the full Simeone pantomime, the Atletico manager’s routine aped at every stage by his brutish No 2 Burgos. Believe it or not Burgos used to be a goalkeeper, winning more than 30 caps for Argentina. These days he is known for his place in a rock band and for his rather overt aggression when things don’t go his way.

Burgos once told Jose Mourinho ‘I’ll rip your head off’ as a Madrid derby got lively. During his days as a player he was once banned for 11 games for assaulting an opponent. So it is clear that Simeone has not gone for the ‘opposite attracts’ style of management. Maybe he looks at Burgos and takes comfort from the fact that he is not the maddest man in the room. We have long marvelled at Atletico’s attempts to bust the dominance of Real and Barcelona and Simeone is a fine coach. He gets the best out of players.

But underneath has always been a nastiness that has often passed without comment. Atletico’s attempt to beat Real in the Champions League final of 2014 was notable for how close they came but what was also true was that they kicked Carlo Ancelotti’s players from first minute to last.

Simeone is contracted to Atletico for two more years but that doesn’t mean very much. One would imagine he will be ready for the Premier League pretty soon.

Whether the Premier League will ever be ready for him and his hired muscle is rather more unclear.