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Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone insisted on a message of optimism when asked about his satisfaction with his team’s season so far in his pre-match press conference before the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on Tuesday night.
“Let’s see, when you start the pre-season, you say: ‘hopefully in February or March we’ll be fighting for everything,‘ so when we’re fighting in March, well, we’re a little far off in La Liga, it’s true. But in the Copa del Rey we’re doing well, in the Champions League we’re doing well, obviously, all these scenarios of fear arise, of possibilities, of what if it goes well, what if it goes badly, but we’re fantastic where we are,” Simeone explained. “We’re fighting for what we want.”
Diego Simeone on managing the second leg with an advantage
“We’re thinking about the match we’re going to play. We’re going to face a very good opponent, who plays the kind of game we’ve always talked about: very offensive, open, with personality, with very good individual players and a collective game that has proven, last season and this season, to be one of the most competitive in Europe and in La Liga.”
Simeone on Juan Musso’s role within the group
“I wouldn’t go into detail about what you’re talking about; I would talk much more deeply about Juan. He is an important player within the group, he is an important player within the dressing room, he is a person who has personality, energy and vitality from the position he plays, and that is much more important than everything he can give us as a goalkeeper.”
Simeone on the importance of scoring or keeping a clean sheet
“We don’t imagine the game as you usually imagine it; we imagine it as we always do against any opponent and as in the games we’ve played against them, with the same mindset. We know their strengths, we know our chances of playing the game we need to play, and there’s not much else.”
Simeone on the importance of the game in the season
“For everyone who obviously needs to fill column inches, there are a lot of spaces to fill. We’re thinking about just one game, so there’s not much space to fill.”
Simeone on the impact of Pedri and Raphinha on the game
“It goes without saying how important Pedri and Raphinha are to any team in the world, and, well, tomorrow they’ll surely be there and they’ll do well, as they usually do, because they’re all very good players.”
Simeone on opinions after the 4-0 win
“I don’t comment on what others think.”
Simeone on his message to the team with a 4-0 lead
“As we do in every game, before any important match we talk about everything: the game we’re going to play, the situations that may arise and how to take it where we think we can hurt them.”
Simeone on whether he feels like a player in a game of this magnitude
“No, not really. I gave my all as a player and I have nothing left to give on the field. But yes, obviously, telling the guys that playing these kinds of games is wonderful. It’s what I was just saying: you spend the whole season waiting for games of this importance. And, obviously, you need to play with quality, with talent, with authority, with personality, with enthusiasm, with faith and, above all, with determination.”
Simeone on whether he’d accept a 3-0 defeat
“If the lawyers were here, this would be aggressive. The thing is, you can’t know this before the game. We have to live with what happens as we go along. And the truth is, I can’t answer a question like that, because we’re not fortune tellers and we’d be guessing.”
Simeone on how to stop Lamine Yamal
“He’s a very good individual player, unpredictable, especially in the final stages of the game. And, well, we’ll have to take advantage of all the opportunities he gives us on offense to be able to attack in that area. And also take him to the place where he feels more uncomfortable than defending.”