Why Atlético Madrid changed hotels in London before Champions League night against Arsenal: Cholo and his superstitions
Simeone’s rituals, jokes and hotel switches frame Atlético’s Champions League trip to London before another defining night.
Suddenly, the Emirates press room burst into laughter. It came after Simeone answered a spicy question from reporters, who had thrown it out there to provoke him. It was about Atlético’s team hotel. It was no longer the Marriott Hotel in Regent’s Park, where the team had stayed in October when Atlético traveled to London to face Arsenal in the league phase – a game the red-and-whites lost 4-0. On their May trip to play the second leg of the Champions League semifinals against Arsenal, the red-and-whites are staying at the Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch.
“We’re better now than in October. And the hotel was cheaper. That’s why we changed,” Simeone joked. The truth is that, beyond the joke, there is always superstition.
Simeone’s London joke had a hidden edge
Because yesterday, as Atlético trained for the final time before tonight’s game against Arsenal, Simeone could be seen doing keepy-uppies in the background while his team warmed up. That is no coincidence either. It is something he always does. Repeated gestures that are as much a part of games as the tactics board. When Atlético travel to Vila-real to face Villarreal, the team stay in Valencia.
After three straight years of defeats there – in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 – the options had narrowed considerably. Because everyone knows it, and it always happens too: when Atlético visit a city to play a game, they do not stay at the same hotel the next time.
From keepy-uppies and hotels to suits and press conferences
The black suit is not incidental either. He has worn it since 2013. The first time Simeone wore it for a game, Atlético won the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. Then there was the time Walter Fernández, Augusto’s father, traveled to Madrid to visit his son while he was playing for Atlético, and the team, stuck in a bad run, suddenly won ... When Walter decided his stay was over and wanted to return to Argentina, Profe Ortega, then the fitness coach and as superstitious as Cholo himself, spoke to him so he would delay his ticket while Atlético kept winning ...
Before the first leg of the quarterfinal against Barcelona, the away game in that tie, Simeone appeared in the press room alongside Griezmann and, voilà, yesterday, before the second leg of the Champions League semifinal against Arsenal, the away game in this tie, he did so again with Griezmann. Coincidence? With Cholo, nothing is arbitrary. Least of all on nights like these.
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