Koke: “Any player dreams of winning the Champions League”

He Athletic will put tomorrow heading to Lisbon to face a different Champions. The entire final round in the Portuguese capital, one match, in the middle of August and without an audience in the stands. But there is nothing to stop the illusion of the fans red and white nor the template, with Koke (28 years) to the head, in search of a first title that is three wins away. The mattress captain serves AS in a different interview, via video call to maintain all security measures before facing Leipzig in the quarterfinals.

How do you face the tie against Leipzig?

With desire and enthusiasm. It is a rare season, a different, unique Champions League, one game and we have to adapt to situations with all the enthusiasm in the world and the desire to pass. We have all the spirits and all the morale in the world to advance this phase.

Is the favoritism that is given to them to go to the semifinals dangerous?

Many of us have competed in the Champions League in recent years and we know that anything can happen to a game. You have to have the conscience and the mentality to enter the game strong and be able to win the tie.

The title is three wins away.

Yes, we know that the Champions League is three wins away. We come from eliminating the champion, that increases your morale, but you have to know that it is not easy and that nobody gives anything away. We must continue how we returned from quarantine. The team is strong, it has fulfilled the objective of the season which was to enter the next Champions League and more as third parties. Sixth in the break, we were able to finish third. We are going with great enthusiasm and enthusiasm.

Does having all five changes benefit you?

We have a great squad and it is very difficult for the coach to make the line-up, because it means leaving very good people on the bench, of high quality and important players. The five changes benefit us, because we have great players. We will see if it benefits us or not to play a game alone.

And know which would be the semi-final rival beforehand?

We only think of Leipzig. That doesn't matter to us, as if it had to be circumvented. We only think about playing and winning, not in the semis, or PSG or Atalanta or a possible final, because that is not our philosophy. We think about the day to day, game by game and we don't move from there.

Have you imagined what it would be like to lift the Champions League?

You always imagine that. The truth is that any player dreams of winning the Champions League and why not this year. We are going to give everything we have to win and hopefully we can lift it.

Is the Champions League a thorn, a challenge or a dream?

A bit of everything. I have not been lucky enough to win it, I have lost two finals, but in the end that is football. One has to win and the other has to lose and every time you have lost you wake up with greater enthusiasm and more desire to win that tournament. We have a nice chance to win this title if we do it right.

It's a squad with a lot of new faces, but Oblak, Saúl or you have a lot of experience in these kinds of games.

We have been playing these Champions League matches in the eighth, quarter or semifinals and it is important to have that maturity when playing. Yes it is true that when you are younger you have a lot of illusion and we will have to match the opposing team in that illusion to be able to eliminate them, but that maturity is important.

What is it like to play without fans?

At home it is very difficult to play without your people. For us it adds a lot. It is true that we have had good results in these games without an audience, but for us it is very difficult. I had never imagined going to the Metropolitan without seeing your fans and without feeling that support. When you play away from home in quotes it doesn't affect you as much, but at home it is very important.

Was Anfield the turning point of the season?

I think that in the end that game got the best out of all of us. We took responsibility and we became aware that we can do important things, all in and plugged in. It is not easy to win two matches in a row against the current European champion and recently Premier League champion.

He is already the fourth player with the most games in the club's history. Do you stop to think about it?

The truth is that no, everything goes very fast. I try to enjoy it to the fullest and that Atleti is as high as possible. I do not think about the games that I have or the ones that I am going to play in these years, in the end what I focus on is winning and that the team is as high as possible. When I finish my career it will be when I begin to think about everything I have done.

Can you imagine playing your entire career at Atlético?

It would be nice. In the end it would be a challenge for me, since I was six years old to finish my career here would be something incredible and a dream. But we already know what football is like, even more so I cannot continue at the level I am now and we would have to look for other options. If it is true that one of my dreams is to end up here.

Has Llorente's level as a striker surprised you?

Sometimes we make a joke on him, because he has gone from defensive midfielder to pure forward. In the end, everything is in the mind of each one, he is a very versatile player and he is showing it. To us the pass he has, the strength he gives us, his work, his physical performance… he contributes a lot to the team.

João Félix has had more difficulties, do you see him prepared for the Champions League?

João is always ready. You have to give him time to adapt to the team, many good but young players have been given time and you have to be patient. It is true that with everything that has involved and with so much money that it has cost, the expectations are very high, but you have to give it time. João has a lot of room for improvement, for sure he will grow with us as a footballer and he will be one of the best.

Diego Costa is very fine, what does he bring to the team?

I have always said that Diego is a player who draws a lot of people and that when he is well he connects us all. The better Diego is, the better the team will be, he is a very important player for us and whenever he is well it shows a lot.

The Champions League would be the best farewell for Mono Burgos.

It would be something historic for El Mono and for everyone, with the first Champions League. He is going to take another path and we wish him the best, hopefully with the Champions under his arm.

Have you talked to Gabi, Godín and that hard core that left without being able to win the Champions League for so little?

I speak many times with Gabi, with Godín, with Juanfran… I have a lot of contact with everyone, but if I tell you the truth, we are not talking about the Champions League. We talk about our personal life and now about the whole issue of the pandemic. We talk more about the personal than the sports.

What message do you send to the fans?

They are very excited, like everyone else. That they continue to support us from home, because with everything that is happening is complicated, surely they want to come to see us, to encourage us, to be close to their players and they will surely support us from the place where they are . May they have faith in us, because in the end we are sorry for them.