Diego Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid, appeared in the press room after his team reached the semifinals of the Copa del Rey after defeating Sevilla at the Metropolitano.
What do you think of Barrios’ punishment?
“A play that works for Pablo, sometimes from a young age one thinks that throwing the ball is ugly, and maybe it is, but it can be important not to take unnecessary risks, I’m glad it happened this, that it is of no consequence , is young”.
The changes, protagonists, but they removed Griezmann and Morata
“First of all, I am lucky as a coach that the footballers are doing what I think. Now it has been very good, what a good change Simeone has made, if it is wrong, why did he send Morata and Griezmann out . The important thing is to do what you feel and try to represent it thanks to the footballers, if not thanks to Correa and Memphis, who defined what should be done, one against the other and so on… Correa made the game, Memphis scored a goal, Barrios worked well despite the last play of the game. It makes me happy, we need everyone, everyone is important. I’m happy with how they entered the game.”
He is afraid of the result
“I’ll tell you what I felt. There was a strange weight in the atmosphere. Sevilla closed well, we didn’t circulate the ball quickly, it was too flat and as the minutes went by they felt better. Except for the penalty in first half, we didn’t create situations to create difficulties and they grew. Better for those who play away from home. In the second we had another pace, we started to create difficulties Marcos was deep, we were more dangerous, the changes especially from Correa and Memphis gave us the quick pace that the team needed and we achieved the result that the whole stadium wanted.
Have you told Correa to stay?
“We all love him very much, the club, the people, because he always made himself loved. I talk with him, in an open conversation. Everything that happens to him and the club or he himself will decide, we will accompany him, because he gave us his heart. Yes If he stays we will ask him what we know he can give us but it’s hard to put ourselves in Ángel’s place. For many years almost always coming in as a substitute, as a booster, being important but it is not easy to sustain him. Behind the footballer there is a person and he might need another situation. I hope he stays with us, he always shows that he is important and he had minutes and made a jump in quality. Let him decide what is best for him and we will all follow him.”
Near the title
“No. The semi-finals are missing, two games away, and the rivals… Bilbao continues to grow, they are flying, they have wingers who are great. They have a great team and they show it in the League and in the Cup. La Real is a reality, in the Champions League he showed it, in the League his fight was good and Mallorca alone with its coach knows what they have, they fight, they fight and they give everything they have until the end . it will be difficult for the four of us.”
A double-match or single-match tie is preferred
“The answer is easy. If I play at home I want a single game, if I play a double game. Being with your people is not the same.”
How he celebrated the no penalty
“We want this competition, we have made a great effort to be here. In the first half we couldn’t develop the game we wanted. They defended well. How can we not celebrate a play that is not appropriate for what happened in the game . We were happy and we left happy to have Atleti in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey.”
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
