Simeone Gets a Helping Hand on João Félix by That who Beat Atlético Once

It was the second day of the Champions League group stage in 2015/16 when Atlético de Madrid welcomed Benfica to the Vicente Calderón. The previous matchday they had won 0-2 against Galatasaray in Turkey and were favourites against the Portuguese team to secure their second consecutive victory. The night started well when Ángel Correa scored, but it would turn disastrous after Benfica's comeback.

That team was coached by Rui Vitoria, who spoke to the microphones of our colleagues at Diario MARCA. He is currently without a team and has played in leagues such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, and has also managed the Egyptian national team. In addition, he was the one who gave João Félix a chance in the first team and exposed him to the whole world.

How did you manage to beat the Atlético de Madrid team that reached the Champions League final?

Nobody expected that defeat, neither those in the stadium nor those watching on television. It is remembered as an exhibition by Nico Gaitán, who when he arrived at Atlético was not half of what he was in Portugal. The coach explains it like this: "We created a strategy that we interpreted fantastically (...) we were lucky because Atlético had a lot of possession and created many situations, but we took advantage of the counterattacks very well."

Rui Vitoria | Google Imagenes

Why didn't João Félix succeed at Atlético?

When asked this question, there are always different answers from people who often do not know what the footballer was like. In this case, we are speaking with an authoritative voice: "It is difficult to know because I do not know what happened within the team. I think that perhaps it was due to the culture of the club (...) but I do not know what happened to the player and his life, nor if he would have had another coach."

Many people claim that Rui Vitoria is talking about Simeone's style of play. However, he is cautious because he has played for other teams such as Chelsea, Barcelona and the national team and has not yet fully established himself. "All professionals have to reflect on their ability (...) at Barcelona and Chelsea he had more favourable circumstances, there must be things we do not know."

Atletico Madrid, currently

He sees today's match between the two teams as "very difficult, Benfica is now better, with more confidence and positive results and is playing at da Luz". He also points out that the Portuguese have one more day of rest although "Atletico has the ability to win".

Concluding the interview, he praised the new signings, with a lot of quality and a specific style that suits Simeone. "Atlético always has very strong teams and players , with the ability to counterattack and compete."