Diego Pablo Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madridanalyzed the match played by his team Inter Milann, second leg of the round of 16 of Champions League.
TRUTH AND NOT WORDS
“I have great respect for our people, and admiration. When we arrived at the stadium, it was great to see the reception. We came from a bad game in Bilbao, an ugly one in Cádiz. What I tried to convey is that this is not the time to ask, but to give. It appeared. Our people are decisive in our stadium, the players are growing. We played against an incredible opponent, using my options, counter-attacks, strength, power…”
GOOD EFFORT
“The center-backs played a great game, Koke gave his life, Griezmann ran until he couldn’t take it anymore. Memphis appeared, which we needed, Barrios, Correa, and Riquelme were missing the goal and have the balls to kick penalties and score it. Being in the best eight seems easy, but believe me it’s not easy.”
HE HAS IT SEVERELY
“We had important games this year, the match against Real Madrid in the Super Cup was good and we deserved to win in 90 minutes. We kicked ourselves a few days later in the Cup, we couldn’t reach the final because Bilbao is better. The team improved in the games, better in Betis, but in Cádiz. But now it appeared. The people send the energy that the players receive. We have to improve away from home, sin I. Now we had a plan, and they didn’t change it. They all ran. They did, they didn’t think about whether they were going to run or not. They did it. “This stadium is incredible.”
CAPACITY THE BEST AND THE WORST
“When the Cádiz thing ended, those closest and farthest said we had no chance at Inter and I said to myself ‘this is the best thing that could happen to us.’ A lot of people didn’t believe, those who went to the stadium believed. It happened because they gave themselves, they played a great game and because we have great footballers.
IMPORTANCE OF SUCCESS
“In the Cup we reached the semi-finals of the Cup, in the Champions League we were good, we played against an opponent who, if not the best in Europe, is one of the three best. Now we can continue improving, I’m sure we can.”
MESSAGE TO THE FANS
“All I can say is thank you. I’ve been at the club for 12 years and I still feel things like a kid who just joined the team. “You have no idea what it’s like out there.”
WHY DID YOU NOT SEE THE KEY PENALTY
“I thought about the Leverkusen game, I saw the first two, I didn’t see the second one and Jan saved it. And if they show you this path, follow it (superstitiously). It makes me happy for Jan, he is with us at Atleti and he wants to be with us, he is one of the best in Europe. He saved us in the first two games, with two difficult shots. “He deserved what happened to him, as what happened to him in his match in Leverkusen.”
GRIEZMANN
“He participated in the most important part of the game. We left him until he asked for a change, when he understood that the team needed more and he couldn’t give, he left. Man”.
INTER DE MILAN
“This year they almost always won, in football you don’t always win, it can happen that they play well and don’t win. It’s incredible how he plays, it’s very difficult to play against an opponent with so many options. They come to you from all sides, Pavard, Bastoni… If you don’t have people occupying these positions it’s very difficult. We played a good game, Savic, Hermoso… Atlético deserved to win the penalty lottery.”
THE MEMPHIS-GRIEZMANN COUPLE
“We also have Morata, an extraordinary striker. The intention is to make them play together. “I’m glad how Memphis came in, he didn’t come from a good game in Cádiz and now he played a great game.”
FC BARCELONA MATCH
“If it doesn’t happen to me (thinking about tomorrow’s game), they will send me a message to remind me. We have clear goals, especially from the club, that we need the Champions League. Barcelona come after a great victory over Naples. It’s good that Barça, Real Madrid and us are in the quarterfinals, because it’s good for Spanish football. “It makes us all happy.”
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.
