Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone spoke to the media ahead of Saturday night’s meeting with Athletic Club at San Mamés in Bilbao, but much of the conversation centered on transfer speculation and Julián Alvarez.
“I want to be very clear,” the coach began. “For me, life is full of opportunities, and this is possibly an opportunity for Julián to sort out a lot of situations in his life. I think we spend all our time learning, and, unfortunately, we spend way too much time judging. And we all judge:
‘Why? Why this? Why that? Why?’ We need to judge less and focus more on learning.
“I think that the step, for me, that he’ll surely take in his life is pure learning, and he has the opportunity to, well, in all these situations that he’ll have to resolve internally, do what’s best for him so that we can see him happy, because that’s what we want: for him to be well, to be happy, and, obviously, to score goals for us, which is exactly what (Paulo) Futre conveyed so well yesterday in a lovely video, sharing his joy with him. And I send him a big hug for the message he sent.”
Diego Simeone on Julián’s situation
“He’s training very well. He’ll be called up tomorrow and will be part of the squad traveling to Bilbao to play, and we’re expecting the best from him, just as we do from all his teammates.”
Simeone on Marcos Llorente’s retirement from the national team
“As far as having him here with us is concerned, Marcos will play until he decides otherwise. He’s a very determined person, with incredible clarity of thought. He understood, and still understands, that the decision he made regarding the national team is what he feels, and I congratulate him because, obviously, our ego always makes us stay longer in a place where we may no longer feel at home, and he clearly is following his heart. We’re very happy with everything he continues to bring to us, both as a person and as a player.”
Simeone on the transfer window
“I always look ahead. We have a great season ahead of us, with plenty of challenges and opportunities, and from there we’ll take it one game at a time, trying to do our best.”
Simeone on Atlético’s transfer window
“Above all, Mateu (Alemany) has done a tremendous job, and I’m happy with all the opportunities the club continues to provide me so that we can keep working in the direction we want.”
Simeone on attacking options at Athletic
“It’s always different to play with more positional forwards than with attacking midfielders coming in from the second line to score. The truth is that football is very fluid; it depends on the players, and tomorrow we hope that each one, during their time on the field, can give their best for the team.”
Simeone on being behind Real Madrid and Barcelona
“It’s not going to change everything that’s been happening for… how long now? More than 15 years, 20 years: Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the rest of us trailing behind, obviously trying to close the gap as much as possible so we can compete.”
Simeone on Jonathan David
“Above all, we need the player who was at Lille. We’ve discussed this with him. He has qualities that can help us given the nature of our team. We need him to adapt as quickly as possible. He’s in the middle of that process, since he arrived just a few days ago, but we see him enthusiastic, we see him eager, and hopefully the field will give him what he wants and what we expect from him.”
