Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has agreed to extend his contract with the Spanish champions by three years to 2020. The deal, announced on the Twitter feed of the champions, was widely expected although there was plenty of speculation a wealthy rival could try to lure Simeone away from the club he twice represented as a player. The former Argentina captain has transformed Atletico since taking over at the end of 2011, leading them to their first domestic league title in 18 years last term and putting them back among Europe's elite. Atletico won the Europa League at the end of Simeone's debut season in charge and reached the final of the Champions League in 2013-14 where they lost 4-1 to Real Madrid after extra time. They thrashed Chelsea 4-1 to claim the 2012 European Super Cup, won the King's Cup a year later by beating Real in the final and defeated their neighbours over two legs to secure the Spanish Super Cup in August. Real will again be their opponents in the quarter-finals of the latest edition of the Champions League, with the first leg at Atletico's Calderon stadium on April 14 and the return at the Bernabeu eight days later.
