MADRID, 7 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, has ensured that this Sunday’s LaLiga Santander match against FC Barcelona is “a good opportunity” to link positive results, which make “the team feel more secure”, and He has highlighted the quality of the culé team, governed by a Xavi Hernández “with clear ideas”.
“Negative results bring negative energy and positive ones help the team feel more self-confident. Tomorrow we will continue in this line and try to take the game to where we believe we can do damage,” he declared at a press conference.
Despite the repercussion of the duel against the Catalans, the ‘Cholo’ explained that it is a game just as important as the rest of the league competition. “All the games in which I have had to coach Atlético de Madrid are an opportunity, to be good with each other, with our people, in the Cup or in whatever we have to play. Ever since I arrived at the club I have felt that every game is an important moment for everyone,” he said.
“We have faced all the matches for 11 years and we want to see them as if they were a final. We will see the next match in Almería in the same way and so on and you also broadcast it in the same way. The reality of football is that we don’t “There is a more important game than the one you have to play. Barcelona are doing very well in LaLiga, they are the team that has contributed the most to the World Cup, with a coach with clear ideas, and they play very well,” he added.
On the other hand, they did not hide the fact that in the clash last season against Xavi Hernández’s men they had problems with their wingers. “They did very well, we started well and won 1-0, but they, with the wingers wide open, caused us a lot of damage on the outside. With Raphinha, Dembélé, Ansu Fati, Memphis… Any of them, in the one against one, they are very important players,” he said.
In another order of things, he did not reveal if Pablo Barrios will start playing. “We still haven’t resolved who is going to start in the middle. Lemar, Koke, Pablo and Kondogbia are working very well. Football is a game and it asks you to do what we normally see in training and in the games you’ve had to play before , you have 20 or 35 years. The personality and the tranquility of each one comes in the confidence of each player. There will not be any talk if it touches him to start”, confirmed.
He also did not explain if he will give opportunities to João Félix. “It’s a good opportunity for the team, to continue growing, to continue improving as a team and capture what we want in the game. We believe that we can take the game to where we want to take it and generating the difficulties that you need to generate for a team like him. Barcelona,” he said.
Finally, Simeone did not want to talk about the difference between the current Barça and Leo Messi’s, although he acknowledged that the Argentine “will always be decisive”. “It is normal that with a player of Leo’s characteristics there is an opportunity to win. When I had to play the World Cup with Maradona, who was already big, there was a feeling that it was difficult to lose, because we had the best. And if you have the better, the chances of winning are closer,” he concluded.