On the ‘Negreira case’: “We hope it is resolved so that we can understand it and we all play with the same tools”
MADRID, March 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Atlético de Madrid coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, has assured that the team is “with enthusiasm” and that internal competition is one of the “tools” to be able to perform at the level they are currently doing, something they hope to demonstrate this Monday against the “brave” Girona, in addition to wishing that the ‘Negreira case’ be resolved as soon as possible so that “everyone can understand it” and that the teams play “with the same tools”.
“We are all observers of what is seen. The team is excited, whether they are those who start from the beginning or those who have to wait to enter. They are doing well, it has always been one of our tools to be able to compete at highest level. Hopefully we can sustain it from here to the end”, he declared at a press conference.
In addition, he did not want to talk about the team’s already overcoming bad streak, with European elimination included. “You never know when the worst moment is. You have to be prepared for anything that happens. ‘It can’t be worse’, and you don’t know. You have to be attentive,” he said.
He also downplayed the fact of playing on a Monday. “It is the reality that we have to solve. We knew we were playing on Monday and we worked during the week in the best way to face a team that plays well. It has, especially from midfield forward, a game that is closely related to what The coach looks at the teams where he was, with courage, with a lot of people in attack, with good pressure when losing the ball,” he said.
For the duel against the Catalans, the Argentine coach recovers Rodrigo de Paul, which allows him to have all his midfielders. “There is a path in which the team, in these last two or three months, began to feel more comfortable and more secure. Whoever enters knows what he has to do,” he said.
“Rodrigo has returned in the last week, we need him, he is a very important player due to his personality and his vision of the game. There is good competition in the sector and it is the best thing that can happen to us: Lemar comes from playing a good game, Marcos is in a good moment, Witsel came in well, Barrios pushes, Saúl is not going to give up… That makes us compete better if we manage to sustain it, “he continued.
The ‘Cholo’ also spoke about Rodrigo Riquelme, on loan to Girona from the mattress team. “I love him, he’s a boy with a lot of energy. He had a fantastic preseason, we talked to him; he had a lot of players in the place where he can play and the best decision was for him to go play for a team where he had minutes, where he has a coach who has given him confidence and has made him evolve a lot. We will greet him tomorrow and we will compete as football asks for”, he pointed out.
Finally, Simeone urged the authorities to resolve the ‘Negreira case’. “These are issues that have to be resolved by the people who have to resolve them. We hope that it will be resolved so that we can all understand it and all the teams can play with the same tools. When a door closes, a window opens” , he concluded.