by There are moments in the recent history of football that do not go unnoticed and that no matter how many years go by, they remain in the fans’ retinas. On December 8, 1996, Athletic Club and Atlético de Madrid faced off in the Cathedral and what seemed like just another match would end up marked by An attack by Diego Pablo Simeone on Julen Guerrero. Some tacos, a deep wound and an image for history.
It was Simeone himself who years later would recognize, in the Amazon Prime docuseries, that it was a “unnecessary reaction, an aggression that is obviously wrong“. Despite the ‘colchonero’ coach’s regret, “we never crossed paths again and the times we had to play with Athletic he didn’t have to come play with us to have that opportunity, at least to apologize. Yes, you get out of the situation of asking for forgiveness, but what is wrong is wrong,” Simeone himself acknowledged.
The course of the play
The game had just started and barely five minutes into the game, Julen Guerrero and Diego Simeone starred in the play of the game. The midfielder of the Bilbao team dropped to the ground to try to catch the ball and hit the Argentine. the latter He raised his leg and left the heels on Guerrero’s thigh and caused a gap through which blood did not stop flowing.
Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid /EFE
The action ended without a penalty from the referee of that match, Barrenechea Montero. A decision that did not go down well with San Mamés, who booed until Radomir Antic, Atlético’s coach, decided to replace ‘Cholo’. The match did not go beyond a tie to one, but that event did not stop there, because The Competition Committee ended up sanctioning Simeone with three gamesafter a complaint that Athletic itself filed.
Although the Argentine’s first version called the act random, the Basque assessed it as an intentional act, given the depth of the wound.
The children pick up the baton
Years later, Giuliano Simeone and Julen Jon Guerrero.descendants of both former footballers, They can share a dressing room in this second part of the seasonunder the orders of Luis García Plaza at Deportivo Alavés.
Although Guerrero has been signed with the reserve team in mind and Simeone is already in the first team, it would not be strange to see them together on the odd matchday, when the ‘albiazul’ coach needs it. After all, the season is long and the ‘babazorro’ team remains in a not so comfortable position in the table. Five points from relegation.
28 years later, and in a very different context, two very well-known surnames in Spanish football will be partners in training, even in matches. A coexistence that will be different from that of their parents.
