The fulcrum of the first team, Cholo’s youngest son also overcame prejudices and suspicions. Raspadori admits: “No one realizes they are close relatives”
“The Mister and Giuliano are very good at managing something that is not simple. If one didn’t know who they are, they wouldn’t realize that they are father and son.” Thus Giacomo Raspadori, great friend of Giovanni Simeone and since July in the locker room with the father and brother of ‘Cholito’.
many examples
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The Simeones are not the first and will not be the last, so the Maldinis, the Cruyffs, the Zidanes, and more recently the Conceiçao at Porto quickly come to mind. There are many examples in every part of the world, but let’s say that today the best-known family in European football is that of the Argentines. Why we are among the football elite and why it works.
the difficulties
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Not obvious nor simple, as Raspadori says. What if things go wrong? What if the locker room breaks down? What if the coach has problems with one or more players having their locker next to, in front of, or close to their son’s? How do we put it? How does the child position himself in the face of any bad moods, criticisms or worse insults towards the father figure? At the moment everything is going smoothly at Atletico, and Giuliano has earned the affection of his teammates with almost absolute dedication, commitment and love for the Colchonera cause.
an example
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The coach’s son is an example, on and off the pitch. The fans have nothing to say, on the contrary. They begin to see in him that ‘entrega’ that ‘give it all’ that characterized the career of their father who won the 1996 double at Atletico on the pitch.
the family
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Giuliano, born in Rome in 2002, is the third and last of the children Cholo had with Carolina Baldini. Simeone has been with Carla Pereyra for years and from this relationship Francesca and Valentina were born. Gianluca, the middle brother, plays for Rayo Majadahonda, the fourth series team that has its home pitch in Atletico’s technical centre, so 4 of Cholo’s 5 children are close to him. Only Giovanni is far away, in Turin.
career
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Giuliano grew up in the Atletico club and was sent on loan to Zaragoza, in Serie B, and to Alaves, in La Liga, a season however conditioned by a bad injury suffered in the summer due to an absurd entry by an opponent in a friendly match. In the summer of 2024 he returned home and joined the Atletico first team.
the suspects
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Initially viewed with great skepticism. As often happens in these situations, the child must fight against prejudices and accusations of nepotism and give twice as many classmates to demonstrate that he is not recommended. Bad life, unpleasant situations, whispered and painful accusations. Giuliano, who has a work ethic identical to that of his fierce parent, rolled up his sleeves. And little by little he made everyone understand that that place on the right wing was his due to merit, not to his surname.
the comments
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“This about the father and son in the same team is something that arouses great curiosity in me – said the charrua Josema Gimenez to Espn – and in fact I asked Giuliano about it. It’s a strange thing, but it’s the way it is. It never seemed to us that Cholo spoke to Giuliano as if to a son, neither on the pitch nor in the locker room. I imagine that they will eat out together, they will see each other, but when they pass the gate of the technical center they stop being father and son”. And the dad? What does he say? “Giuliano has a great relationship with his teammates – Cholo told Dazn – and this is the thing that makes me happiest”. Pride of a father who managed to normalize a working relationship with his son.
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