Giuliano Simeone's Impact on Atletico's Season Amidst Criticism

Diego Simeone is used to noise. This season, it’s coming from an unusually close source.

His son, Giuliano, has featured in every game for Atletico so far, starting three times in La Liga and earning a Champions League bow on the opening day against Liverpool. His only appearance from the bench came in the 2-0 win over Malaga on August 19, the opening weekend of the league campaign.

Those minutes have not gone unnoticed. A section of the fanbase has turned to social media, accusing Simeone of favouritism and questioning why the young winger keeps appearing on the team sheet. Every selection has become an argument. Every touch, a referendum.

Simeone, though, is having none of it.

The Argentine was pressed again this week about the online criticism and the perceived special treatment. He cut the conversation dead. Performance, he insisted, is the only thing that counts. Asked about the storm around Giuliano, he brushed it aside ahead of Sunday’s trip to San Sebastian.

“I have nothing to say. Giuliano's actions and work speak for themselves,” he said, refusing to give oxygen to the debate.

The focus inside the club is on something far more worrying than a family subplot: Atletico’s form.

The Madrid side travel to face Real Sociedad on the back of two bruising defeats. First came a 3-0 dismantling by Athletic, then a loss at Liverpool in the Champions League. The aura of defensive certainty that has long defined Simeone’s tenure has started to crack.

Eight goals conceded in the first five competitive fixtures tell their own story. The back line, usually Atletico’s bedrock, suddenly looks porous. Mistakes are creeping in, distances are wrong, and opponents are finding space where there used to be a wall.

Now comes a trip to the Reale Arena, and with it a test of character as much as quality. Atletico cannot afford to let an early-season wobble turn into a full-blown crisis.

Simeone’s options are not exactly overflowing. Pablo Barrios is sidelined with a muscle injury, stripping energy from midfield. In attack, Alexander Sorloth remains unavailable, further limiting the coach’s choices in the final third.

That only heightens the scrutiny on every selection, including Giuliano’s. Every name on the team sheet will be dissected, every decision framed as a statement of trust or desperation.

For Atletico, though, the task is simple, even if the execution is not: win in San Sebastian, tighten up at the back, and stop the season from slipping into chase mode before it has truly begun. The Rojiblancos need an away victory to restore their defensive steel and keep the gap to the summit from stretching into something far more ominous.