It's an epiphany worthy of Saul — and that’s not a reference to the Atletico Madrid midfielder. Diego Simeone has seen the light, the scales having fallen from his eyes.
He took charge of his 100th game in the Champions League in midweek — only Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson had previously clocked up a century at the same club. And his team won, taking their goals tally to 15, only Arsenal and Manchester City have scored as many.
When Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side faced Pep Guardiola’s team in the Champions League quarter-finals two seasons ago, the Argentine had become a parody of himself — a mean- spirited tactician whose sterile football was an affront to the talent he had available and the poor punters paying to watch it.