Diego Simeone dismissed suggestions that Atletico Madrid’s decision to change hotels in London was born of superstition as the team prepared to face Arsenal on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emirates Stadium.
Simeone pushed back hard on the narrative, saying plainly: "We are better now than in October and now the hotel is cheaper." The coach made the comment in a pre-match briefing where he stressed that the stories about ritual and luck were a media search for the unusual, not his motivation.
The first leg in Madrid finished level, but it was anything but uneventful: Arsenal took the lead through a Viktor Gyokeres penalty late in the first half, only for Julian Alvarez to convert a penalty 11 minutes into the second half to restore parity. Atletico head for London mindful of a heavy defeat there earlier in the season — a 4-0 loss in October that Simeone repeatedly invoked when drawing contrasts with his current squad.
Those numbers frame why the hotel move attracted attention. A four-goal drubbing in October remains a vivid reminder of what can happen in London, and the draw at Madrid left the tie delicately poised. Simeone warned against reading too much into small moves. "What I notice is that they are always looking for some headline that is out of the ordinary for a semi-final. And simply the one who plays better and strengthens their weapons will be the one closest to winning," he said.
Beyond narratives about luck, the more immediate question for Atletico is selection and fitness. Simeone set out the parameters plainly: he is monitoring Alexander Sorloth, Julian Alvarez and Giuliano Simeone before deciding who will be available. "Yesterday they moved a bit, they are better. We hope they can train well and tomorrow morning we will decide how we start," he said.
The situation with Sorloth is concrete: Simeone explained the striker had been unable to play in the home game because of "a tight hamstring," and praised his importance to the side. "An extremely important role, we need him very much. It was a shame he couldn't play in the home game because of a tight hamstring. We need him whether it's for 10 or 90 minutes," the coach said, underlining the thin margin for error in a knockout tie.
Simeone also framed the match in the broader project: he is driving Atletico toward the club's third Champions League final under his stewardship. That aim sharpens every selection call and every tactical tweak ahead of Tuesday's kickoff, and it is why even a seemingly mundane detail — the choice of hotel — became a story.
The tension in Simeone's comments comes from a gap between control and circumstance. He insists the hotel choice was practical and mocked attempts to sensationalize it, but the squad's fitness leaves real uncertainty over the XI he will name. He acknowledged that faith plays a role while reminding everyone that outcomes will not "depend on us" alone: "We have a lot of faith, then for sure it will not depend on us," he said.
At stake is a place in the Champions League final and the concrete decision Simeone promised would come at the last possible moment. For readers, the thing to watch is not the lobby where his players slept but the team sheet he signs tomorrow morning — the selection will tell whether Atletico trust returning players enough to try to change this tie, or whether they will manage minutes and risk in pursuit of the third final Simeone is aiming for.
