In the aftermath of a dramatic 2-1 win over Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke to the press to praise his team, and in particular match winner José María Giménez.
“When it was over, I looked at him and said, ‘What a goal,’” Simeone confessed. “And then, he’s a fighter, he’s a hard worker, he’s a very humble guy and very aware of how important our team is, even in his own personal life, that’s it, we need him.
“He’s one of our captains, and today we’re very happy that he had the
opportunity to score a great goal like he did,” Simeone added.
Diego Simeone on the game
“My takeaway is the team’s collective effort, I’ll take away the plan we tried to implement. I’ll take away the team’s response to the idea we put forward and which was evident. The team was much stronger in midfield in the first half, with quick transitions as they appeared, where we hurt them on the wings. The goal came, and there were some important plays that we could have handled better. (Inter) play very well; for me, they are one of the best teams in the Champions League, based on their squad. We knew they were going to force us to defend deep, to sit back, but we needed the legs to get out, as we tried to do for much of the first half. Beyond that, they also created chances.
“In the second half, when it was 1-1, I felt it was time to change what was happening, looking for the alternatives we had waiting to come on, such as Sørloth, Nico Gonzalez, Koke, Griezmann and Marc Pubill, who gave us that leap in quality so that we could start playing in their half and they could make those dangerous quick transitions. We always had the feeling that any quick transition from them, with (Marcus) Thuram and all the fast players they have from midfield onward, could create danger for us, as they did. I remember Nico’s header inside the area. But the team was already in the opposition’s half looking to win the game. We had Griezmann’s chance, we had Sørloth’s chance, there were more corners and, well, luckily the corner came in from the left, José scored a great goal, and I’m very happy for the team and for the group for being willing to follow a plan as they did.”
Diego Simeone on the importance of José María Giménez
“José is a very important player for us, one of our captains. We need him this way. The truth is that he transmits the same thing to us as other players in other positions who are also very important to our team. And that’s it, we have to keep him in the best possible shape so that he can continue to give us everything he gives us.”
Diego Simeone on the team performance
“That’s why, when I was asked at the beginning, I would definitely say the team, the group and the understanding we have. The understanding of how we play. In the first half, we played one way, obviously with likes and dislikes, but the match is long, the opponent was a tough opponent, an opponent that needed us to pass and go through that area where Conor, Johnny Cardoso, Barrios, Giuliano, Baena and Julián have that stifling defensive hold, to be able to come out on the counterattack. And then in the second half we had Sørloth, Griezmann, Nico Gonzalez, Marc Pubill, Koke, who came out with a different quality of play. Luckily, we got through those two parts of the match, I think in the best possible way. We had the luck we needed, with Giménez’s goal in the last play.”
Diego Simeone on the objective this season
“Now we’re thinking about Oviedo.”
Diego Simeone on Johnny Cardoso
“Well, I want to focus on Johnny Cardoso, who hasn’t played for a long time, who suffered an injury that kept him out for quite a while. Obviously, Koke is doing a very good job. Barrios can also play in that position. And he’s training better. As he’s training better and I see him improving, he played. That’s the only reason. Because I feel he’s close to what we need and what the team needs. And the more we behave like this in training, the more chances we have of playing. The other day it happened to Raspadori, who hadn’t played for quite some time and did very well. Musso, an important player because he has been a substitute for a long time and has done incredibly well. Conor, whenever he comes on, comes on with that expectation and that hunger to help the team. And we need everyone. We can’t afford to lose anyone. And that depends on us as a coaching staff and on each individual, on them as players.”
Diego Simeone on set pieces and their importance
“We’ve obviously discussed this with you in previous matches. We’re working on it. We’re aware that we have good strikers, that we have good headers, that set pieces are crucial for any team that wants to win a tournament. And well, we’re working on it. And today, luckily, it started to give us some good opportunities.”
Diego Simeone on Champions League qualification
“We always take it one match at a time. We want to continue to evolve and improve. We need to keep growing because we have a lot of room for improvement. And that’s it, that’s our only goal. There’s no other thought.”
