Moreover, the season before Simeone’s arrival, Atlético finished behind Valencia, Sevilla, Villarreal and Athletic Club in seventh place, 38 points off champions Barcelona and just 15 above the relegation zone.
At Atlético, this has largely manifested itself in a narrow 4-4-2, but Catania spent the second half of the 2010/11 campaign switching between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-1-2.
The Elefanti stayed compact and narrow in the defensive phase of play, with the wide men – two of Ezequiel Schelotto, Giuseppe Mascara, Raphael Martinho and Alejandro Gómez – expected to drop back and tuck in when out of possession; meanwhile, Ricchiuti and the central striker – more often than not López – moved back into midfield to prevent simple passes into this central zone rather than pressing the centre-backs, a notable feature of Atlético’s play over the last few seasons.
Indeed, it was only six months after leaving Sicily that Simeone was appointed Atlético coach and, although the decision had a lot to do with his connections to the club and managerial accomplishments in South America, Cholo’s rewarding spell in charge of Catania certainly helped to persuade the Madridista board that he was the right choice.
