Is Giuliano Simeone related to Diego Simeone? England renew rivalry with old Argentina villain

Giuliano Simeone took no time at all to make his presence felt in England’s World Cup clash with Argentina.

In a furious start to the semi-final grudge match in Atalanta, both sides flew into tackles as they looked to win the physical battle early on.

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It all began in the opening minutes, when Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez appeared to elbow Elliot Anderson on the back of the head.

To the surprise of Three Lions fans back home, the incident went unpunished, and both teams continued to get caught up in physical tangles in an ill-tempered first half.

After Anderson was involved in another tangle, Jude Bellingham was left furious at Leandro Paredes, Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi for their behaviour.

And it wasn’t long before Argentina wideman Simeone got involved in the action.

Midway through the first half, the Atletico Madrid star dramatically went to ground after he refused to give the ball back to England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Simeone fell to the ground dramatically as Pickford reclaimed the ball from him, quickly catching the eye of fans online.

One fan commented: “Giuliano Simeone living up to the family name by just being on the field to foul and wind up England players…”

With Diego Simeone earning a notorious name for Argentina against England at the 1998 World Cup, you would quickly wonder whether there is a link between the two.

So, are Giuliano Simeone and his Atletico Madrid boss of the same name related? And if so, how?

Is Giuliano Simeone related to Diego Simeone?

Yes, Giuliano Simeone is related to Diego Simeone.

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The current Argentina star is the son of his Atletico Madrid manager, and it’s fair to say he has plenty of history with England.

Back at the 1998 World Cup, Diego Simeone was famously responsible for David Beckham’s infamous red card against Argentina in the last-16.

The Three Lions icon was sent off for his kick out at Simeone, as his Argentina side went on to dump England out on penalties.

It’s a moment which has never been forgotten on these shores, with Simeone becoming a villain among fans in this country.

While Beckham copped his fair share of the blame for his red card, England supporters were furious at Simeone, who they felt conned the referee by making the most of the contact.

And the Argentine himself later admitted that the match official had fallen into his trap.

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A year on from the incident in 1999, Simeone said: “Let’s just say the referee fell into the trap.

“It was also a difficult one for him to have avoided because I went down well and in moments like that there’s a lot of tension.

“You could say that my falling transformed a yellow card into a red card. But in fact, the most appropriate punishment was a yellow one.”

Superstar son?

28 years on from Diego Simeone’s infamous antics against England, his son Giuliano lived up to the family name by putting in an all-action display against the Three Lions on the World Cup stage.

The 23-year-old was born in Rome in 2003 while his father was playing for Italian club Lazio.

Giuliano then grew up in Argentina before moving to Atletico Madrid in 2019, where his father has been manager since 2011.

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Since then, Giuliano has gone on to become a regular for Atletico, making 104 appearances for the Spanish giants.

The younger Simeone followed in his father’s footsteps by making his Argentina debut in 2024, before he was named in Lionel Scaloni’s 26-man squad for this summer’s World Cup.