Atletico coach Diego Pablo Simeonspoke on Movistar, as soon as the game against Elche finished and qualified for the Champions League for the tenth consecutive season:
They have already secured the Champions…
In an irregular season, in a Champions League where we competed very well and in a League where we did not have regularity until we entered this League of 14. The goal is reached, deserved, work and that makes us return to the Champions League for another year, very important above all for the club.
They are ten years in Champions…
It is the result of the work of a lot of people who are not seen, of employees. It allows us to imagine a new season with good vibes.
This time they have been forceful…
It’s the year we’ve had the most goals since I’ve been here, incredibly, but also the year they scored the most for us. There is the balance that cost us. Savic and Giménez missed us at times, Reinildo did us a lot of good, he is aggressive and humble. The team has talent up front and the goals come.
What happened to Oblak and Lodi?
If there is discussion it is good, it is that they are involved in the game, they are alive.
400 league games. Another 400?
It’s an important moment, if it weren’t for all the players it would be impossible to be there for so long. I am grateful, I am lucky, I have a club that supported me in difficult times. The round trip is. But all the players who have passed allowed us this possibility.
Later, the coach of Atléticoappeared before the media, at a press conference:
Griezmann: “To talk about Griezmann is to talk about one of the players who has scored the most goals at Atlético, in its entire history. He came back this year, found his best level and then got injured. Then he came back and played good games but he couldn’t meet the goals. Against Espanyol, the last penalty was given and he was one of those in charge, but he understood that it was not his time to take the penalty. Today he gives De Paul the pass when he could have taken it. That is the player greatness.
Has it been the best game away from home?: “We have played important games away from home, against Betis it was also good. The club faced difficulties in the best way. The club offered us a challenge to face, this League of 14 games. We had the humility to believe that it we could do, in a very irregular season due to the goals conceded. Savic and Giménez were away for a long time, Reinildo arrived in January… We arrived at this sought-after moment because there are many people in this club that are not seen and the club needs to continue growing. When I arrived they told me that they needed four or five Champions Leagues in a row… we’ve already had ten”.
Has this been the most difficult qualification for the Champions League?: “When we won the League in 2014, the following year we arrived on the last date without knowing what could happen. There was Valencia, Sevilla… Many players left and we were there until the end… In this season we none left but we had an irregular season, especially in the defensive imbalance that is our way of approaching to compete with those who are always fighting”.
Have you changed four defenders when Vrsaljko was injured in the 5th minute?: “We were playing with five. Carrasco was on the left and Sime on the right. Elche had been playing with five and changed to four. They encouraged us to play outside. Lodi broke well on the first goal, as is usually done against a defense four, when the match was still quite difficult”.