What are you most proud of in this league?
We are finishing a very difficult league in which we go through different stages. I think that rebelling in the difficult situations we went through in December and January generated us to become strong to follow the line that the team has always set. Get hooked around the high competition. A great effort, a great dedication. The team is strong and hopefully we can finish the league in the best way.
Would you like there not to be many changes to the squad?
We continually talk to Miguel and Andrea about what we need and what expectations we have. We are clear about what we will seek. We have a growing team, new people who will serve as a base for the next season. In this market, where surely there will be no big buys and sales, the one that gets a solid, strong base and can keep competing from one year to the next is the one that will continue to be in the fight of all competitions.
Do you think that what you get is not valued?
I do not train so that people value me, but so that my team wins and that my club achieves the objectives year after year. The opinions are very respectable and for tastes, the colors. You have to have the peace of mind of knowing the path and reality of each game.
Do you think that Setién is criticized in Barcelona because there are more demands and different objectives?
Each club has its priority objectives and the demands on each club vary. We demand ourselves to try to get closer to having the requirement, at some point, to fight the championships. In the last 10 years Barcelona, Real Madrid have always won and once we and twice were second. Both of them prepare to become champions of everything. Both will now want to go for the Champions because they are champion teams and have that goal. Anything other than being a champion is complex and difficult for leaders to sustain.
Do you have any formula to keep Felipe up until the Champions League returns?
It is very difficult to have a formula when a player needs to play many games and there are none. You had a hard time training in the best way during the commit because you didn't have the tools to do it. It cost him, then he got injured and now he started helping us. Let's see if tomorrow can help us from the beginning to have a little more continuity. From now on you have to keep working and not let your guard down because all the plants are very good.
Do you think that Atlético is in the best physical moment of the season?
When the team wins, the coach is very good and when he loses he is very bad. When players are injured, the fault lies with the doctor and the coaches. The team prepared very well in the quarantine. We came back in the best way, we were able to rotate in almost every game, especially at the beginning we changed 6-7 players each game. Later we reduced the rotations because the players were able to respond to the demand both when they were holders and when they left the bench.
What grade do you give to the season?
We went through different stages during the league that for us were normal. It was clear that we were going to suffer at some point. We started the preseason and the first three league games very well. After the match with Valencia, difficulties began to maintain forcefulness and enthusiasm. Against Villarreal, the team rejoined the competition. After the quarantine, several players began to stand out. Those that we maintained this month have been regular in the performance of many players, which allowed us to maintain the demand.
Why did the team start pushing much higher after confinement?
We started working on this aspect, from the confinement with the video, since we could not train it in the field. We talked to them about what we were going to look for and that was an aspect to highlight. The emergence of Morata, of Carrasco, allowed us to make this pressure in the opposite field. From Correa's third game, he began to get into the rhythm that he brings us when he's on the field. That allows us to have more offensive people with two means instead of the three we use on other occasions.
