MADRID, 2 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, praised the figure of Yannick Carrasco this Saturday, who seems to be heading to Saudi Arabia soon and whom he loves “a lot” because he gave “a lot” to the team, but asked to focus now on players such as Javi Galán, Rodrigo Riquelme and Samuel Lino, substitute theorists for the Belgian in a squad that he likes, “competitive” and that generates “excitement”.
“He had the need to go out, but it is not yet official. Whenever it is, we will meet there in Riyadh to have a coffee and give each other a hug because I love him and he is a boy who gave us a lot,” Simeone said at a press conference prior to Sevilla’s visit this Sunday in LaLiga EA Sports.
The Argentine coach stressed that he loves the Belgian “very much as a person”, with whom he has been “together for many years”. “He came very ‘boy’, he left, he came back, he did very well, we won a league, and the truth is that he has always given himself in the best way and predisposition for what the team and the coach needed. And I am grateful as always to the boys who gave us so much and he is one of those who gave it to us”, he added.
“But now to think about the Galán, the Riquelme, the Lino, that any of the three can occupy that place and work as a coach to strengthen all the illusion that these three footballers have to occupy a place in which they have done very well without any doubt Carrasco throughout his period at Atlético”, stressed the ‘Cholo’.
The mattress coach trusts these three players to replace Carrasco because Lino has done it “with Portugal”, Galán did it “in Huesca and Celta”, and he understands that Riquelme “can do it too”.
“He has done it in friendlies on the right and he has done very well, he has defended very well,” he commented.
“Obviously there are things to improve, but that’s what the coaches are for, dedicated to helping the club improve in competition and that the players give their all. Without a doubt, I think that with some of them, we have people to continue looking for what they are watching these last games”, detailed Simeone.
With everything, he is happy with his squad, “with people in almost all positions, two per place, plus the return of Reinildo who will surely rejoin the group shortly.” “We have a competitive squad that is very hungry and excited, with many boys who came to help us and with others who have come back to improve. That makes me excited, it arouses enthusiasm and hopefully we can show it on the field,” he said.
“I always value everything at the end of the season. I’m happy because there are footballers in all positions who can alternate to different places and above all I see that there is hunger, enthusiasm and freshness, and I always liked that,” said the former footballer.
Simeone insisted that Carrasco’s position is “compensated” and that work had been done “consequently” given the high possibility of the Belgian’s departure, so he does not believe that they will seek reinforcement in the winter market. “If we need something, we will assess it in the course of these months, but I repeat again that I see things that I like and that I am enthusiastic about,” he reiterated.
Finally, he referred to Sevilla, his rival this Sunday, a team that they know “very well, tough, strong and that has a coach with a very clear mentality in his game, with a very vertical game.” “It will be a tough match, where we expect a stadium with a lot of people,” he demanded.
“We need our people, as they were against Granada, and even more so because I have no doubt that it is the strength of the team when the people are well and when we generate adrenaline in the stadium, we experience very beautiful nights or afternoons, so hopefully the people be with us, supporting the team and have a lot in the stadium”, he sentenced.