MADRID, March 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Girona coach, Miguel Ángel Sánchez ‘Míchel’, has assured that Atlético de Madrid, whom they will face this Monday in Montilivi, is “the fittest team in LaLiga” and that the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann is “the best player ” of the moment, and has asked his footballers to play “with confidence and aggressiveness”.
“The team is prepared, they know it’s a very difficult game. Atleti is a great team and right now, for me, they’re the fittest team in LaLiga. They have a differential player right now, who is Griezmann, who I think is the best player in LaLiga”, he declared at a press conference.
“Right now Atleti is spectacular, because they dominate everything. ‘Cholo’ has been in the team for many years and has players who know by heart what they have to do. Players like Griezmann are at their best moment of the season, and that’s what it makes it more difficult for us. We have to play tomorrow with confidence, aggressively, in front of our fans, even though the rival is in their best version”, he continued.
In addition, he assured that, despite last day’s defeat in Getafe (3-2) “the message is the same” this Monday. “I never change my message. We want to be protagonists, but sometimes I notice that the team suffers a lot in some situations. We have to be in our best version and we know that at home we have to step forward and be an aggressive team, that think about the opposite goal and make Atleti as uncomfortable as possible. Like this we will have a great game. I think the team is still the same”, he pointed out.
He also praised the work of Diego Pablo Simeone, and refused to assess if he sees as many years as he in the Catalan club. “When you are in a place that you think is your place, you have to stay, the ‘Cholo’ has done it. I’ve been there for a year and a half, but he’s been eleven, I’m just starting. He has made Atleti a ‘Champions’ team ‘ and he is a great trainer who is in the ideal place for him. This site is the ideal one for me”, indicated.
In a different vein, he acknowledged that it will be a special game for Rodrigo Riquelme, on loan from Atlético to the Gironins. “He is a differential player for our way of playing. It will be a special game for him, but tomorrow he will wear the Girona shirt and I am sure he will be focused on giving his best version. It was more special when he played at Cívitas Metropolitano, but here, with our fans and in Girona, it will also be a special match”, he stated.
Finally, Míchel played down the importance of playing on a Monday. “It’s better for our fans that the game is on the weekend, because a Monday night is more complicated for the children, but that’s what it’s up to. My concern is the game and that our fans come as always to cheer, that we need it,” he concluded.