played two full seasons, winning the 1997–98 UEFA Cup in a side spearheaded by Ronaldo up front. In 1999, Simeone joined fellow Argentines Néstor Sensini, Matías Almeyda and Juan Sebastián Verón at Sven-Göran Eriksson's Lazio. The side had gone close to the Scudetto in the season before Simeone's arrival and he helped deliver the championship after a season, where Juventus led the standings by two points going into the last day. A Juve loss at rainy Perugia coupled with Lazio's comfortable home win over Reggina at the Stadio Olimpico ensured Simeone's first Serie A title. After winning the double in Spain, he would then add the Italian double as Lazio edged out Inter to claim the 1999–2000 Coppa Italia. He went on to play three more seasons in Rome, which included more last day drama as Simeone's goal against former club Inter on the last day of the 2001–02 campaign effectively ruined his old employers' title dream. After cancelling his contract with Lazio, Simeone returned to Atlético Madrid in 2003, spending his next two seasons there. In total, he played in 165 matches for Atlético, scoring 31 goals. In December 2004, it was confirmed that he would leave Europe and return to Argentina to finish his playing career with Racing Club. International career In 1992, Simeone represented the Argentina under-23 team at the 1992 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament in Paraguay, which saw Argentina fail to qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics. For the Argentina senior team, Simeone amassed 106 caps, the first coming in 1988. Simeone won the 1991 and 1993 editions of the Copa América with Argentina. He played in the 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He was part of the Argentina under-23 squad that won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as one of the three overage players allowed per squad. As a midfielder, Simeone scored 11 goals for his country, including one in the final of the 1992 King Fahd Cup. During the 1998 World Cup, England's David Beckham was sent off for kicking Simeone in retaliation for a foul (see also Argentina–England football rivalry). Simeone later said he simulated the injury from the kick in order to get Beckham sent off. Sports Illustrated was critical of the Argentinian's theatrics in that incident, stating Simeone first delivered a "heavy-handed challenge" on Beckham and then "fell like a ton of bricks" when Beckham