The Cholo Simeone He appeared this Saturday 24 hours before facing Espanyol in the penultimate league match before the break for the World Cup. Precisely on this fact, the CEO of the club, Miguel Angel Gil Marinpointed out in a letter addressed to fans that this “atypical” season starting with a World Cup “logically is altering the performance of a squad of this level.”
For Simeone, who had already spoken about this fact a few dates ago, the proximity of the World Cup event does not affect his team. “Nope. As a footballer, a few days before a World Cup, I would be very excited, because it is the best thing that can happen to a footballer. But at the moment that I would be dressing to play with my team, I would not remember in every action of the game that I have a World Cup. Because you play to win, whether it’s in the street with your friends, at ping pong… when you compete, you forget”, assured the Argentine coach.
What he has not wanted to assess is the fact that the team’s physical trainer, Profe Ortega, has received permission from the club to be absent during the World Cup and work for the Uruguay team: «I never gave a public opinion on the subject of Profe and surely when the due moment arrives he will inform and the club also of what happened and of the reality that he is going to live».
“We are a family, we have to be together”
On the delicate situation of the team, eliminated from European competitions in November and which has gone three games without victory, Simeone has made an analogy between the club and a family. «In the family for a whole year we have differences with a cousin, fight with your wife, change your mind with your brothers… But if there is a problem there is a meeting and everyone gets together. Feeling close to us identifies why it is called a family and we are a family and it is time for us all to be together », he argued.
However, doubts among Atlético de Madrid fans regarding Simeone and the team as a whole are growing. What would Cholo say to those Atletico fans who are no longer believing? «Demand more and give more, because I was never asking for absolutely anything. In my way of living I understand that we have to give: I, we, the whole group give more. Because people are going to be there, people want to win, see a show and before tomorrow’s schedule they will go with many children to see a good game and they want to have a good time with their children, they won’t have a bad time. And we have to give for this to happen.”
Koke’s role
Looking ahead to the match against Espanyol, Marcos Llorente will return to the squad, as the starter, and Thomas Lemar, having overcome his injuries. While Koke, who did part of the training on the sidelines, could already be ready for Wednesday’s clash against Mallorca. Simeone has valued the return of these three midfielders, decisive in 2020-2021 when Atleti was League champion, and has thrown a dart.
«They lived a fantastic season, when everyone criticized me that Koke was not a midfielder, that he did not recover… that I did not forget. And we won the League with Koke as a down midfielder. Koke is very important for the team, as is Lemar because he has a different game than everyone else in the middle, with much more speed in transition, eluding, getting rid of opponents. And Llorente is a midfielder-forward, who had his best season in the League this year and I have no doubt that they are very important players and Llorente and Lemar will be able to be there tomorrow to give us a hand », he announced.
“More than ever, game by game”
Finally, Simeone has recognized that there was a lot of difference between the draw against Leverkusen and the defeat in Porto, where the team did not show their faces, and has ended the press conference insisting on his most repeated motto: «It hurts me how we lost in Porto because it wasn’t us. We couldn’t represent the game we wanted and the hierarchy that this team has and the work we’ve been doing. But it happened, you have to see reality, seek to work harder, and more than ever, game by game.
