This Sunday’s Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona match is one of the most highly anticipated fixtures of the LaLiga Santander season, given that both these teams are battling near the top of the table and given that both these sides have produced some memorable showdowns over the years.
Fans have been waiting for this game for a while, since their most recent meeting was 11 months ago, back in February 2022, when Barça came from behind to win 4-2 against Atleti at the Spotify Camp Nou. That LaLiga Santander match featured fascinating storylines such as Luis Suárez scoring against his former club or Dani Alves producing a wonder strike and also receiving a red card.
Even if those two players have moved on from the clubs they represented last season, there are still many stars names who’ll be on show, including in the dugouts where Diego Simeone and Xavi Hernández will do battle again.
Two very different footballing philosophies
This will be an interesting match from a tactical point of view, as these are two coaches with very different footballing philosophies, with Xavi wanting his sides to keep the ball and to play attacking football, whereas Simeone is willing to forego possession if he thinks it gives his team a better chance of winning.
In 2016, while playing in Qatar, Xavi was critical of the style of football employed by Simeone’s Atleti sides. “I don’t like to watch teams that sit back,” he said in an interview with the ‘Universo Valdano’ show. “That’s not the style a big club should have.”
Responding to that in a press conference, Simeone explained: “I respect all opinions, as we can all be right in the world of football. I just look to make the most of the players I have available. I just want to win, not to please others.”
Although Xavi and Simeone have always been respectful when discussing one another, it’s clear that they have different ideas about the beautiful game and how to approach the 90 minutes of a football match.
Simeone’s 10 duels against Xavi the player and one clash as coaches
Although Simeone is far more experienced than Xavi as a coach, the Argentine is only 10 years older than the Barça boss. They coincided in LaLiga Santander during their playing days, during Simeone’s second spell at Atlético Madrid between 2003 and 2005.
Even though the Blaugrana and Rojiblancos met three times between Simeone returning to Spain from Italy and moving on again to Argentina, he and Xavi never actually shared the pitch. In those three matches against FC Barcelona, Simeone never came off the bench for Atleti in any of them, meaning the two midfielders never actually went up against each other as players.
They have, though, had 10 duels in which Xavi was playing for FC Barcelona and Simeone was coaching Atlético de Madrid. Xavi and Barça won four of those 10, in addition to five draws and one defeat, when the capital city side progressed in the 2013/14 Champions League quarter-finals.
Overall, Simeone’s record coaching against FC Barcelona is five wins, 11 draws and 16 losses from 32 meetings. The Argentine lost his first head-to-head duel with Xavi the coach, as a new rivalry of the LaLiga Santander dugouts commenced, but now Xavi will experience the ferocious atmosphere of the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano for the very first time as either a player or as a coach, and Simeone will seek revenge for February’s 4-2 scoreline.
