Cholo Responds to "The Special One": Whether You're Mourinho or Simeone, Respect is Key

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has criticized the conduct of his Real Madrid counterpart, Jose Mourinho, following the "Rojiblancos'" 2-1 victory in the city derby. The Argentine labeled Mourinho's post-match actions, where he displayed photos of incidents he claimed warranted red cards for opposing players, as disrespectful.

"We respect everything others say, but we must remember that Hansi Flick, Jose Mourinho, Manuel Pellegrini, Simeone – all of us are in a privileged position with significant public exposure as coaches, and we need to be careful about what we say. It's essential to be respectful towards the referee and our colleagues. When that boundary of respect is crossed, regardless of whether you're Mourinho, Simeone, Flick, or Pellegrini, it's unacceptable. That line should not be crossed."

"The photos Mourinho showed? I'll talk about the match, which was intense. I believe we controlled it throughout. Real is a team with incredible transitions and exceptional players, and we controlled almost everything. I'm proud of the team's collective effort. We knew where we could hurt them. We knew it was about the right flank, and we won't stop improving the team's performance despite the situations you want us to comment on. Claims for send-offs? Generally, I don't talk about such things because the situation has passed. The head of the referees said it wasn't a sending-off. If we want to focus on that, fine – let's do it, but we won the match."

"The team played a great game with excellent teamwork and defended very well. We managed to contain our opponent without succumbing to their style of play. It's clear to me what the team did and what kind of match we played. After 15 years where it was difficult for us to win against Real, we managed to win again at home and in front of our fans. The derby puts us in a position to continue growing as a team, and that's what we're doing," commented El Cholo at his post-match press conference.