Why is Atlético Madrid’s Diego Simeone called ‘El Cholo’?

“¡Ole, Ole, Ole, Cholo Simeone!” – the chant echoes around the Metropolitano Stadium. The simple but very effective way Atlético Madrid fans have of showing their devotion to coach Diego Simeone during home games. It’s difficult to think of any coach, past or present, who embodies what Atleti is all about like El Cholo does – rivalled only perhaps by the late Luis Aragonés, El Sabio de Hortaleza, the man whose appearances record Simeone overtook back in March.

As a coach, Luis oversaw 612 games with Atleti, Simeone’s tally stands at over 700 – he is the club’s longest-serving coach, who has been in charge for more matches than anyone else in Rojiblanco history.

What does ‘El Cholo’ mean in Spanish?

So why is Simeone called El Cholo? Argentineans love nicknames – and especially when it comes to football. Some of the great Argentine players and coaches were known by their nicknames (El Pulga, El Loco, El Fideo, El Ratón, El Piojo...). The Atlético Madrid coach’s nickname is a strange one because El Cholo doesn’t actually mean anything, the word doesn’t exist in Spanish. Nor is it a shortened way of saying Diego or is it related in anyway to his surname, Simeone, or his middle name, Pablo.

So where does it come from? The great man explained himself in an interview with Manu Carreño in Spain’s Cadena SER program El Larguero in October 2019.

Why Diego Simeone is called ‘Cholo’

“There was a player called [Carmelo] Simeone during the 70s, and they called him Cholo. He was a right-back who played for Boca – I think he also played a game or two for the Argentina national team,” Simeone explained. “And around 1985, a coach who was called Victorio Spinetto, who was a great Argentine player – a veteran coach with us when I was in the youth team… one day he called me Cholo… and it stuck. That’s where it started. What does Cholo mean? I’ve got no idea...”

The career of the other Cholo, Carmelo Simeone, began with Vélez Sarsfield where he spent seven seasons before joining Boca Juniors in 1962. He was capped 17 times by Argentina, making his debut in style, with a 6-1 win over Chile in March 1959. His playing days came to an end with Club Sportivo Belgrano in 1969.

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