MADRID, 21 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, wanted to make it clear that “nobody is essential” at the club, at the same time that he assured that he wants “the best” for the rojiblanca entity, when asked about the continuity of the Portuguese Joao Félix , to whom he wanted to give “serenity and joy” to show “what was seen in the World Cup.”
“I want the best for Atlético de Madrid. Eleven years ago I gave everything I have to help the club grow, that’s all that matters to me, keep improving, growing, winning, focusing on game by game. Nobody is essential, nobody, things will be as they have to be”, he asserted about the Portuguese striker, whose future seems to be up in the air.
However, the ‘Cholo’ insisted that “he is a very important player”, that “he played a good World Cup, participated in goals, in the importance that the coach gave him”. “Hopefully we can have the best Joao that was seen in the World Cup. Hopefully we give him the serenity and joy to show everything he saw in the World Cup,” he wished.
In addition, he confirmed that Mateus Cunha “is at a point of departure, almost about to sign with his new club.” “He gave us everything he had and each one contributed the best of each other to the other”, he thanked the Brazilian ‘battering ram’. However, given the imminent departure of the carioca and the possible departure of Joao Félix, Simeone does not see the need to sign.
“I’m looking inside, for the ‘B’ boys, they are in a good moment, they are young, but I see a lot of enthusiasm. If you have to raise boys from the quarry, it’s the best thing that can happen to us,” he said.
The Argentine coach celebrated having “five footballers among the top four in the world” -in reference to Grbic, Griezmann, Correa, Molina and De Paul. “He speaks highly of the club and the squad. It’s the second time we’ve had world champions at the club since I’ve been there, it’s important for the club, it means they’ve chosen the players who are with us well,” he applauded.
Specifically, the coach addressed the case of Rodrigo De Paul, who “began very well” in his first season as a rojiblanco, but now, like “the whole team”, it was “very irregular”. “I don’t think it’s fair to talk about just one footballer when the team hasn’t had the regularity we normally have. That can’t give a footballer the chance to have regularity and a good game,” he explained.
The rojiblanco team visits Arenteiro this Thursday in the second round of the Copa del Rey, a “wonderful” tournament. “It gives everyone the chance to compete well, no matter the category in a single match. The sun, the wind, the water, whether the grass is short or long, doesn’t matter, the important thing is the enthusiasm you have for playing against whoever it is” , he reflected, before analyzing the Galician team, a team that usually performs with “4-4-2”, with “great enthusiasm” and good performance at home.
“It was very good for me to go see the World Cup, from the stands, without the responsibility that I have had for a long time and with a lot of everything that happens to the club. Seeing it without a bubble can open up the panorama more, I feel like it, enthusiasm, illusion, I am leaving a lot of energy at the club, with joy and devotion, I like what I do”, Simeone settled.