CRISTIANO RONALDO, Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona would never be able to play together, according to Diego Simeone.
The famously defensively-minded Atletico Madrid boss, 50, has revealed he would never start arguably the three best players of all-time together – because no-one would track back.
Maradona, Messi and Ronaldo couldn’t play together, says Simeone
Simeone has developed a reputation for keeping it tight at the back and playing with real structure in his nine years at Atleti, complementing his rigidity with star attackers to do damage on the break.
And thanks to his philosophy, which has brought him so much success, Simone has incredibly claimed he wouldn’t play Messi, Ronaldo and Maradona together.
However, he did say the Argentine duo could work alongside each other without the Juventus star.
Speaking about how Messi and Maradona compare, Simone revealed: “They are different…
“One is a goal-scoring machine. I have suffered daily in recent years [at the hands of Messi].
“The other [Maradona] was Argentine football represented in a person.
“Today it would seem that Messi, more mature, is beginning to externalise. They could play together.”
RON DECISION
When asked whether the Argentine duo AND Ronaldo could work together to forge a fearsome attacking trio, Simeone said it would be “impossible”.
He said: “Adding Cristiano would be more complicated. We would start to have holes.
“I always say that if one [player] does not run, fine. If two do not run, difficult. If three do not run, impossible.”
Simeone supported his defence-orientated style by pointing to the smash-and-grab Champions League win over Liverpool at Anfield in March, with Atletico Madrid heavily criticised for their approach but Jurgen Klopp.
The Argentine boss said: “Football is like boxing because you have to know when it is time to attack. At Atletico, we know the virtues we have as a team.
“The example is when we played against Liverpool, a tremendous team, we knew that we could hurt him.
“When they talk about how we were lucky, I think of a team that lost 2-0 and scored three goals. That is not luck. The games must be valued as a whole.
“Against Liverpool, we knew that [Alvaro] Morata was injured, and that he was going to relapse. We lost 1-0, and the tension went up.
“I thought: ‘How can I put Morata there, extend, and get injured again; I commit suicide; I am going to put up with it until the end.’
“And it went well: he was injured, but he scored.”
Angry Diego Costa kicks water bottles and kit bag after he is substituted for Atletico at Liverpool in the Champions League
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
