Former Italy and AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi has slammed the tactics of Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone.
Sacchi was left unimpressed by Atletico after their 1-0 defeat at Champions League opponents Manchester City.
He barked: “That way of playing tires the public, who ask for beauty, emotions.
“(Ruud) Gullit asked me why we didn’t try to cross and score goals with our heads and I told him no, if by bad luck we score a goal, then we’ll always play like that. He did not want to.
“At Euro 2000, he was in the stands alongside Pelé during the Netherlands-Italy match, which we won after spending the entire match on defence.The Brazilian told me: ‘A pity, they have good players, but they don’t know how to play football’.
“Here, Atleti does the same thing: defend, defend and defend.”
Sacchi continued: “They have a catenaccio from the 60s, an old idea: what kind of football is this? It doesn’t give you joy even when you win. You win without deserving it, only with cunning. I don’t like it and it surprises me that the Spaniards, people accustomed to the beauty of football, accept it.
“Simeone has important moral values, he is a leader, he should do more, believe more in himself. Only the one who does it without becoming smug can be improved.”
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