LFabrizio Romano just posted on X: after the Bayern loss, Simeone says Liverpool and Bayern are better than Atletico, and they need 120 percent.
MOne hundred percent won't be enough? That's a coach admitting his team isn't top tier.
LNo, that's a coach setting a standard. He's not lying to them, he's telling them the gap is real.
MStandards don't come from saying another club is better. That's defeat before the next match.
LCome on, Simeone has taken Atletico to two Champions League finals. He knows how to motivate his locker room.
MThen he should say THEY have to be better, not that Liverpool and Bayern already are.
LBut they are, Marcus. Look at the last five years—those two are the measuring stick. Saying it isn't weakness.
MAnd when his players hear that, what do they think? 'Boss doesn't believe we can catch them.' That's corrosive.
LThey hear, 'We're not at their level, so we work.' That's Simeone's whole identity—grind, fight, close the gap.
MThe same identity that just lost to Bayern? That didn't close the gap, it measured it.
LOne bad night in Munich doesn't erase the man's career. You're too emotional.
MI'm not emotional. I'm reading the quote. He said Liverpool and Bayern are better, not 'we must be better.' There's a difference.
LAnd then he said they have to reach 120 percent. That's the fix. You're ignoring the second half.
MBecause the first half is the headline! You don't say the quiet part out loud if you want a title.
LOr you do, because this squad has been sleepwalking. He's trying to shock them.
MIf that's a shock, it won't matter until they prove it on the pitch.
LA reply under Fabrizio's post reads, 'Bayern and Who?' Liverpool fans are going to love that.
MThat's either a Manchester City fan or someone who hasn't watched Liverpool this season.
LSimeone named two clubs—one gets disrespected online, the other doesn't. This sport is wildly online.
MAnd wildly honest now. Maybe Atletico needs a new measuring stick, or a new mirror.
LThey have the manager who built the toughest defense in Europe. Stop disrespecting him.
MToughest defense just lost to Bayern. Respect isn't the issue—results are.
LSo one loss means blow it up? That's exactly the short-term thinking that kills clubs.
MWho said blow it up? I said don't announce you're second-class. That's different.
LHe didn't announce it to the world—he told his players the truth. That's leadership.
MIt's public! Fabrizio has the quote. Social media has it. The whole sport has it.
LBecause everything is public now. Maybe that's the point—he wants the board to see the gap too.
MNow you're making him into a politician. He's a football coach, not a press secretary.
LI'm saying he's smart enough to fight on every front. You don't last a decade at Atletico by accident.
MHe's lasted because he wins, not because he quotes. And last night he didn't win.
LSo now every word is judged by one night? That's unfair.
MEvery word is judged when you say Liverpool and Bayern are better. That's not a throwaway line.
LFine, I'll give you it's a risk. But the risk is the point. He wants pressure on his own team.
MIf they respond with 120 percent, I'll admit he's right. Until then, 100 percent looked exactly like zero in Munich.