Thread by @PausaFutbol, Radomir Antić's Atleti.A look at the great Radomir Antić's impact on Atletico [...]

Radomir Antić's Atleti.

A look at the great Radomir Antić's impact on Atletico Madrid, his unearthing of the underrated Rojiblancos legend Milinko Pantić & his legacy on Spanish football.

#PausaHistoria [THREAD]

Milinko Pantić arrived at Atletico Madrid without much fanfare. He was an unknown commodity for the most part, playing outside of Europe's top 5 leagues at Panionios in Greece. But his signing was key to what became one of Atleti's greatest seasons in their history.

Even at nearly 30 years of age, nobody knew Pantić. But the Atleti manager at the time, Radomir Antić, who brought him in, was confident in his compatriot's abilities. Antić however, unlike Pantić, had a superb reputation in Spain for his work with Real Oviedo and Real Zaragoza.

Antić had also joined Atleti that season. The club didn't do too well in the previous season (94/95), narrowly avoiding relegation. This was in spite of having a solid core with excellent players including Atleti's current manager, Diego Simeone.

Pantić straightaway hit the ground running. He had a knack of scoring difficult goals & his set piece ability was excellent which added another dimension to Atleti's attack. His corners were so good that they used to meet the head of the attacking Atleti players nearly every time

Another one of Antić's signings was 6'2" centre forward Lyuboslav Penev from Valencia who only recently had recovered from a bout with testicular cancer. And like Pantić, Penev's signing was also questioned by both, the press and the fans.

And again, just like Pantić, Penev hit the ground running. He was ruthless in front of goal.

Buoyed by their new signings, the existing core of superb players including Kiko Narvaez & Caminero and club captain Diego Simeone, Atleti started the season off brilliantly.

Throughout the season, Atleti were dominant. They lost the top spot just once in the entire season but reclaimed it almost immediately. Valencia maintained pressure & the league wasn't won until the final day but Atleti were poised to win it and they did!

Another impressive achievement for the club under Antić came in the same season. They beat Johan Cruyff's Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey with none other than Pantić scoring the winner.

Within a season both Antić and Pantić left a lasting impact on Atleti.

Both left just 2 seasons later with Atleti failing to reach the same heights as they did in the 95-96 season with Pantić moving on to Le Havre.

Antić returned to Atleti twice more to steady the ship after both his replacements in Sacchi and Ranieri failed miserably.

Antić however could never help Atleti to the same heights again. Part of this could be attributed to Atleti’s president Jesus Gil who nearly ran them into the ground with the way he ran the club and the erratic decisions he made.

In 3 seasons at the club Pantić went from being an unknown footballer to a Rojiblancos legend.

Antić remains one of Atleti's most influential figures ever. He took Atleti from the brink and won them the double. He took over them twice more and did whatever he could to save them.

Antić is the only manager to have managed Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

At Real Madrid, Antić did a great job but was sacked due to club politics. At Barcelona he is remebered for integrating Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta into the first team & allowed Xavi to be more creative which essentially kickstarted his impressive career.

Antić sadly passed away earlier this year. He is widely respected at every club he managed including Real Zaragoza and Real Oviedo. And when he left Spain, he did so as one of Spanish football's most influential figures ever.

Latest Threads Unrolled: