Atletico Madrid’s Ex-Star Exposes Diego Simeone’s Tough Nickname for Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi’s incredible talent was no stranger to Atletico Madrid during his time at Barcelona, with the Argentine superstar regularly finding the back of the net against Diego Simeone’s side. Former Atletico defender Filipe Luis has offered a glimpse into how Simeone strategized for facing Messi, revealing the nickname the manager used for the prolific forward. Despite Simeone’s efforts to contain Messi, the results were not always in his favor. Let’s take a closer look at the tactics and challenges Atletico faced when coming up against the legendary “dwarf”.

Lionel Messi’s dominance against Atletico Madrid revealed in former defender Filipe Luis’ comments

Former Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis has given insight into how Diego Simeone used to plan to stop Lionel Messi during his time at Barcelona. Luis revealed that Simeone would put four players on Messi and even referred to him as “the dwarf” to try to minimize his impact on the game. Despite Simeone’s tactics, Messi still managed to score 32 goals against Atletico, making them his second favorite opponent after Sevilla. Simeone’s first league win against Barcelona came in 2020.