Simeone: "I trust the players a lot, the team is growing"

MADRID, 7 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, has reiterated his confidence in the team, which "is growing" despite the new setback in the Champions League against Bruges, and has assured that they must generate "enthusiasm and enthusiasm" to return to hook their fans.

"Koke's statements go in the direction of what Atlético de Madrid has always been and what we want to continue supporting. It goes hand in hand with us generating enthusiasm and enthusiasm on the pitch, being close to the people, and tomorrow we have an opportunity to play at home and in front of our people, whom we need", he declared at a press conference.

In this sense, he stressed that in the rojiblanco club "the demand is maximum". "You have to win, and you have to win every day. I see that the team is growing, it comes from having a good game in Seville, with a lot of positive things. I have a lot of trust in the players, in the team, because I see that it grows and goes in search of what we are wanting," he said.

Regarding the situation of the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann and the possible agreement with FC Barcelona for the purchase clause, the Argentine coach kept his speech. "I was always in the same situation and I behave according to what I have to behave," he said.

"I have always behaved in the way that I understood that I had to behave, I refer to the facts. We know the importance that Griezmann has within our team and hopefully he can continue to improve and grow, because he is on that path," he continued.

On the other hand, the mattress coach did not reveal if the Argentine Rodrigo de Paul has been sanctioned for attending an awards gala in Miami (United States) when he had permission from the club for personal reasons. "We will resolve situations internally, as we have always resolved them. We have spoken with Rodrigo, who is our player and he is important to the team. We need him to be in good standing with the team," he stressed.

In addition, he regretted the loss of Marcos Llorente, and explained that the Argentine Ángel Correa is perhaps not the best player to replace him. "Correa does not have the same characteristics as Marcos, because Marcos occupies much more of the field far and wide; Ángel is much more forward. We will look at what we think is best for tomorrow's game and from there we will decide," he said.

In another order of things, he praised the evolution of midfielder Roro Riquelme, on loan from Atlético at Girona and whom they will face this Saturday. "Already in the preseason we saw that he was going to be in a very good year. He is a boy who is excited, who is hungry, who wants to continue growing. We spoke with him before the tournament began, telling him the reality of the team, which has many footballers in his position and that the growth he was having was going to stop," he acknowledged.

"I think we are all getting it right, because he is playing, he is growing, he is with a great coach, with a team that plays as a result of the characteristics he has in order to exploit his best virtues: speed, explosion, shooting, work... He is our player and we are going to face him tomorrow, he added.

Finally, he denied that he is not betting on the quarry. "From the academy we continue to have Saúl, Koke... We continue to see who can walk the paths that many footballers who have grown from the academy have traveled. Hopefully in a few months we can have the quality of academy players that we had. There are years that are better and years in which we have to wait", he concluded.