Diego Simeone - The Manager

Amid talk of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho arriving in the Premier League, one of the world’s top young managers tends to be forgotten. Diego Simeone, 42, shouldn’t be ignored — especially as the Atletico Madrid boss is out of contract at the end of the season.

The Argentine is much more than the midfield hardman David Beckham kicked in St Etienne to earn THAT silly red card at the 1998 World Cup. After a trophy-laden career as a player in Spain (Atletico Madrid) and Italy (Inter, Lazio) he has rapidly risen to become an elite boss. His record is astonishing. Simeone led Estudiantes de la Plata to their first Argentinian title in 23 years in 2006 as a rookie. Two years later, he was champion with River Plate. He took over Italian minnows Catania in January 2011 and miraculously kept them in Serie A.

Atletico’s turnaround since he took over in January from Gregorio Manzano has been breathtaking. Nine months ago, they were knocked out of the Spanish Cup by Third Division minnows Albacete and were 10th in La Liga, four points above the drop zone. Under Simeone, they stormed to a run of 10 wins and seven draws, finishing two points behind fourth-placed Malaga and narrowly missing out on the Champions League. They won the Europa League — destroying both Valencia and Manchester United’s celebrated nemesis Athletic Bilbao in the final.

And, of course, a week last Friday in Monte Carlo, they crushed Chelsea 4-1 in the European Super Cup, also hitting the woodwork three times. Some might think Simeone simply got an under-performing side up to scratch — after all, this team also won the Europa League and European Super Cup two years ago. Wrong. Atletico trashed Chelsea with a COMPLETELY NEW starting line-up to the one that beat Fulham 2-1 in the Europa League final in 2010.

Simeone summed up his philosophy on Saturday: “Work and humility are decisive. It’s work and commitment. The commitment to your team-mate who runs alongside you on the pitch, to the manager, to the fan encouraging you. That’s Atletico. Union and commitment.”

Simeone is yet to sign a new deal at the Vicente Calderon Stadium — although he admits the door is still open. He said: “My intention is to continue, to sign a new deal but we will see. I’m not talking about other offers or clubs. Right now, my priority is to talk to Atletico first.” That may be but there is no doubt Simeone gave a certain Russian billionaire and his advisers plenty of food for thought in Monte Carlo 10 days ago.