“It’s time to generate what the team has represented in the friendlies”
MADRID, 14 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, highlighted the enthusiasm of Saúl Ñíguez and Álvaro Morata during the preseason, so he hopes that they will be able to show it in “every minute” that they play starting tomorrow against Getafe, in the league premiere of the mattress team, “with the same enthusiasm” that they are showing in training.
“Saúl and Morata came with a lot of enthusiasm and predisposition for what the team needs. Obviously they are having an exciting start to the season, hopefully they can show it from tomorrow’s game and that every minute they have to play they do it with the same illusion that they are showing in training”, explained the ‘Cholo’ this Sunday at a press conference.
To do this, the first litmus test will be this Monday against the azulones on the first day of LaLiga 2022/23. “Tomorrow will be an important game for the team and we will start a League with teams that have strengthened very well, and that continue to grow, like Villarreal, which I really like. It will be a season that will at least find us with new situations”, he pointed out .
The Argentine coach acknowledged that the departure of Daniel Wass was due to personal issues of the Danish. “I am happy with the way Daniel finished the preparation. He was in good shape, but he asked us to leave because he had personal issues to resolve. He understood that what was happening to him was much more important than what we we have to solve as a team,” he said.
A vacancy left by the Danish, but which is covered by the incorporation of the Argentine international Nahuel Molina. “We have different alternatives to that position, we’ll see if someone will come or not. Until the market closes, you have to be very calm in everything that is said,” clarified the ‘Cholo’.
Regarding the signing of Axel Witsel, Simeone highlighted his versatility. “We position him in that role as a central defender, who actually also participates as a midfielder because when the team attacks he can gain meters on the field. He is doing well, hopefully he can hold it and the field will mark a little what we will be doing” , commented.
“The possibility of having footballers who represent different positions generates enthusiasm in me because we are covered beyond not being pure footballers. I don’t even start naming players because we have put many footballers through different situations and that is finding solutions”, highlighted the Atletico coach about the variety of alternatives in the squad.
Now, Atlético, with an impeccable preseason by winning all four games played, will try to prolong the good feeling. “Last season, for different reasons, we did not have an ideal preseason, this time we were together for 15 days at the Angeles de San Rafael. Now is the time to play, to generate what the team has been representing in friendlies,” he said.
An atypical season with the World Cup in between in November. “We are going to see a better World Cup in theory because the footballers arrive in fullness. Possibly we will see a World Cup from another situation in terms of good form. Nothing alters us, we live game by game and we will not get out of it. Tomorrow we have a rival always complex, as is Getafe”, he sentenced.