“Better not bite Suárez, at the end he deserves a tribute”

Conte returns to the Premier to coach Tottenham.

He is a great coach and will have a great impact on Tottenham, they will compete for the top and is another figure in the Premier.

Is it a challenge to play against Cholo?

It will always be difficult and tough against Atlético. It is a great team as we saw in the last match, quality players all over the pitch, they work very hard as a team and are dangerous against each other. Simeone is a world-class coach and he always plans the matches to hurt us, but with a bit of luck we hope to have a good result like in Madrid two weeks ago.

They are at a high level.

We have started the season well, we can always improve, although it could also be worse. In most games we can improve, but it is always like that in football and we hope to progress, learn and improve.

They can close the classification on the fourth day despite the difficulty of the group.

It would be an important achievement, but it is a difficult and complicated test tomorrow. If we get a positive result, it is possible to qualify with two games to go in the league, but we only think about 90 minutes and getting the result we want.

Does Suárez’s return pose a challenge for you?

Many challenges. We all know that he is a great player, he has been in all his clubs, he always performs, he has left magical moments in Liverpool and I was very close to him, we still talk, he is world class and causes problems for any defense. He always converts his chances in front of goal, but he is not the only one, Atlético has world-class players on the entire pitch and Luisito is one of them.

Do they speak a lot in English?

Not that often, but from time to time we talk to see how the family is doing and how the family is doing.

Did you learn from Suárez?

I learned a lot from him. He helped us a lot in the mental part, in training he always wanted to win and he also played when he was touched, he never stopped, he always looked for the best for the team. He helped me a lot, he gave me confidence and I had a good relationship on and off the field, he is a good person and a crack.

Should a tribute be paid to him?

Now is the time to give him a round of applause, here he was a crack, incredible, he gave us a lot. The fans know this and appreciate what he has done for our club. I don’t think he cares, but it is better not to bite him during the game and maybe at the end it would be good to applaud him.