Simeone vs Mourinho, Ancelotti, Benítez, Zidane and Lopetegui...
Diego Pablo Simeone will face up against Santiago Solari on Saturday, the sixth Real Madrid manager since taking over on the Atlético Madrid bench.
Since joining Atlético Madrid in January 2012, Diego Pablo Simeone has seen off five different managers across the Spanish capital at local rivals Real Madrid. This Saturday, in the derby at the Wanda Metropolitano, he will face his sixth, Santiago Solari.
Simeone vs Madrid managers
Ahead of the latest edition, in the 28 games between the two Madrid sides in all competitions, he has sat in the opposite dugout to José Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benítez, Zinedine Zidane and Julen Lopetegui. And against all but Benitez - who he only faced once, a Liga game in 4 October 2015 - he has tasted victory.
Mourinho
First up for the Argentine was Mourinho, already in the Bernabéu hotseat when Atlético added their new man. The self-professed 'Special One' had the first derby in LaLiga, on 11 April 2012. There were four Simone-Mou duels with three defeats for Cholo and just the one victory, one that changed the 11-year losing trend: in the final of the Copa del Rey, when Miranda scored to make it 2-1.
Ancelotti
Ancelotti was next up and has been the Madrid coach who has faced Simeone the most times across the seven years with the rojiblanco. The were 13 battles in total, across LaLiga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League, with a balance for Cholo of five wins, four draws, four defeats, including one of the most painful in the club's recent history: the defeat in the Champions League final in Lisbon, where Ramos levelled things up in the 93rd minute, just seconds away from Atlético lifting their first ever European Cup. Simeone's greatest triumph through this period was likely the 4-0 victory at the Vicente Calderón.
Zidane
Simeone faced Zidane with two wins, three draws and three defeats for the Argentine. Like his predecessor, Zidane inflicted more European pain, in the Milan final.
Lopetegui
Due to Lopetegui's short tenure, there were only two games between the managers. Simeone won one of those games, the impressive European Super Cup victory, where Madrid fell 2-4 against the rojiblancos, where Diego Costa shone. The other was a scoreless draw early in the season.
Solari
On Saturday, Cholo will welcome the sixth tenant of the illustrious neighbour to try their best. Santiago Solari has his team much improved from the start of the season, and this game could go a long way to determining which of the capital sides finishes above each other in the league.
