Ahead of Saturday evening’s La Liga fixture between Atlético Madrid and Levante, coach Diego Simeone spoke to the media on Friday.
El Cholo addresesed a number of topics, including the controversial exclusion
of forward Julián Alvarez from the shortlist for the team of the year at FIFA’s “The Best” awards.
“I’m not the one who decides whether he is (in the shortlist) or not,” Simeone responded bluntly. “I understand what you’re saying. For us, he’s extremely important, surely one of the best strikers in the world.
“We have him, we have to take care of him, and hopefully he’ll continue to give us everything he gives us, which is a lot,” Simeone concluded.
Diego Simeone on playing Dávid Hancko at centre back or full back
“He can do very well in both positions. At full back, where he plays for his national team, or as a centre back, where he has almost always played for his previous team. He can be a third centre back when we play with five. With his characteristics, in different ways, he brings us a lot.”
Diego Simeone on goals from substitutes
“It speaks very well of their preparation, especially mentally, which is the most important thing for those who don’t start the games. Hopefully we can keep it up, because here, without a doubt, we are all part of the team.”
Diego Simeone on managing minutes for his players
“Management. It’s part of the management that coaches need to have. The guys play football, and that, playing football, is not being a substitute, but playing, and they always need to do that. It’s logical and that’s how it has to be. When you join a team, you don’t sign a contract to always play as a starter, you come to help the team grow and be better. That’s why we need everyone, and the more people involved, the better. Then there will be anger, as there always has been. It will be in the respect they have for their coaches and the club.”
Diego Simeone on Marc Pubill
“When we need him, we’ll call on him. He’s ready in terms of his daily work and his commitment in training. He hasn’t played much. He came on in a decisive game against Rayo when we were losing 1-2, and he did very well, staying very calm, and we pulled it off, which was very important in this process. It was important, and I haven’t forgotten. I respect his work, and I hope that when it’s his turn to play, he’ll do so accordingly.”
Diego Simeone on Iván Zamorano saying that he could tell he would be a coach when they were at Inter
“Yes, I was a coach, and he was never going to be one, you could see that. Joking aside, I have great memories of Iván: a beast in terms of work, strength, goals, and personality. Everything he had as a player was fantastic. Great memories of that period.”
Diego Simeone on awards
“Honestly, with all due respect, I’m focused on Levante, a team that works well defensively, that has achieved important results away from home, and that has fast players from midfield forward. I can’t imagine a different game from the ones we’ve seen on their away fixtures so far this season. We have to take the game where we think we can do damage.”
Diego Simeone on the win against Union Saint-Gilloise
“There are no easy games, that’s for sure. It’s all about each team’s mentality and how they play. We saw it in the Champions League: Brugge against Barça, Qarabag against Chelsea, Villarreal struggling away from home… That’s what makes football so wonderful. You encounter difficulties, and the teams that are mentally stable are the strongest.”
