LUNCH HOUR Diego Simeone believes Atletico Madrid will not be contenders to retain their La Liga title this season and are fighting for third place. The Argentine guided the club to their first league title since 1996 last season, as Barcelona were forced to settle for second place and Real Madrid finished third. A UEFA Champions League final appearance followed, but after the defeat to city rivals Real in Lisbon the break-up of Simeones team began. Diego Costa and Filipe Luis both signed for Chelsea, Thibaut Courtois returned to Stamford Bridge following his second season on loan with Atletico, while David Villa left for New York City and Adrian Lopez joined Porto. Although Simeone has brought in the likes of Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak, the coach does not expect his team to contest the title once again after Real and Barcelona spent big in the transfer market ahead of the new season. *Talking point - Mind games by Diego Simeone?
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:04:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015