Ten minutes after the match ended at the Metropolitano, Simeone it was still on the grass. In the middle of the field, pensive, almost absorbed, he watched his fans. The South Fund still almost full sang for its Atleti, before the look also melancholy of Morata, Griezmann, Saúl o Kokestreet dress. Cholo did not leave the field until his last footballer did. What was going through his head? “That there is a lot of effort, a lot of people behind this and when things don’t work out, they don’t have a good time. And that hurts, because We have the responsibility and we assume it”.
«I wanted to stay to wait for everyone to come out because the effort of the footballers had been what we wanted And when that’s the case, there are two options: play the victim or play the strong one. I prefer the strong one, ”Simeone argued.
Cholo answered with a resounding “yes” to the question of whether this was “his hardest day” at Atlético de Madrid, leaving aside the two lost Champions League finals. And this time, after a surreal ending, with the referee’s final whistle suspended for a penalty called by the VAR, so that Carrasco finally missed the miraculous gift, Simeone was honest about his thought: «I have no doubt that I the Champions is difficult for me. It cost me the two finals, one on penalties and the other in 93, because in extra time we ran out of energy. Closer to winning a Champions League than losing on penalties is impossible.”.
But he reaffirmed his intention to persist: «I am hard-headed, very hard-headed. Y I will continue insisting until I have the chance at this club and keep looking for something that we lack.
The umpteenth missed penalty
About him umpteenth penalty missed by Atlético de Madrid (It is the team that has missed the most penalties in the history of the League; it has already lost a Champions League final from eleven meters; and before today Griezmann missed another maximum penalty in Bruges), Simeone defended that Carrasco was in charge of launching it “Because he’s one of the shooters, I was confident and he grabbed the ball, as he did last season against Espanyol and Real Madrid».
When asked why Griezmann, the usual first pitcher in this sort of game, did not launch it, and if the Frenchman had shied away from his responsibility, Simeone was upset. “I do not agree with anything you say. Griezmann was very tired and at that moment Carrasco grabbed the ball. Unfortunately it went wrong and allows this opinion, which I do not share at all », he answered emphatically.
In conclusion, the Argentine reaffirmed his idea that this is «a difficult, hard, unexpected moment and that it did not fit into our project. But between victimhood or continuing to work, I am about to continue working.
