The coach of the Atletico Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, He has assured that they always seek to “reach as high as possible” in La Liga Santander and that is why they continue to aspire to be second, not “runners-up”, something that he considers “underground”, and has warned of the danger of facing Elche, which Despite being relegated, “the rhythm of play in the rival field has improved” since the arrival of their new coach.
“Runner up no, second; runner-up is underground, below, second is second. We don’t look beyond the game with Elche, and I think our objective is more than clear. We always seek to go as high as possible and we are not going to change, ”he declared at a press conference.
Despite everything, the Argentine coach explained that they continue to think “in the same way” and that they only focus on this Sunday’s game. “Tomorrow we are going to face a team that since the arrival of Beccacece has improved the rhythm of the game in the rival field, breaks the second line well, has a good number of crosses in the offensive part, has had a great collective work in the defensive part, there are no players who are left off the hook… It is a team that plays compact, which tries to withdraw as a group when it is their turn to defend. We don’t look at anything other than tomorrow’s game, ”he said.
🗣️ @Simeonein the press conference prior to Elche
🇪🇺 “Get into the Champions League? I can’t answer you until it happens”
🥈 “We would not be runners-up, we would be second. Runner-up is below, underground. Second is second”
📻 https://t.co/ilgsizI4uT pic.twitter.com/7yb6OtHIRN
— Radio MARCA (@RadioMARCA) May 13, 2023
He also assured that they have not changed anything in the way of working despite the fact that they face an already relegated rival. “We have seen defensive and offensive situations of the rival and we work the week in the same way. We know that it is a good opportunity for Elche to play a great game, and it will depend on how we play that game”, he underlined.
Regarding the regularity in the eleven mattresses, “El Cholo” assured that it occurs in a “natural” way. “Things happen naturally, not now, but since we arrived. We have always looked for what would generate the most possibilities for us to carry the game forward. Sometimes we maintain formations and sometimes we change a situation that can do the team good. Now the team is having a regular line and that is the most difficult thing, ”he stressed.
However, he did not reveal whether he will maintain his system of five defenders next season. “We always go after what we have in the squad. Based on what we have, we try to see what is best for the team to get points, ”he said.