BARCELONA - ATLÉTICO
“There is no division in the Atleti camp over Torres”
Simeone brushed away any talk of fallouts during his press conference: “The fans didn’t stop loving Luis Aragonés when he went. Idols are loved forever”.Roma vs Atlético Madrid live online coverage
Diego Pablo Simeone, the head honcho at Atlético Madrid, spoke to the press on the eve of his team’s trip to the Camp Nou to take on the league leaders (1600 CET).
Jackson: “We have a lot of options to choose from up top. We’ll make a decision that best suits the team. Aside from Griezmann, none of our strikers have experienced rich veins of goal-scoring form yet. That will change though”.
Torres and the fallout: “There is no Simeone/Torres divide among the Atleti fans now. They love us both unconditionally. What the fans want is for Atlético to win. The supporters didn’t stop loving Luis Aragonés when he went. The same is true for Kiko, and now he’s retired. Idols like Fernando will be loved forever”.
"I rate the team as highly as ever"
How are you approaching this game?: “Correa is improving and has put in good shifts the last few games. Hopefully he can keep that up because we need him. The Barca match is massively important and will be a great occasion for us to guide the game the way we want it played”.
Lack of firepower in the forward line: “I rate the team as highly as ever. We are still in a good position in La Liga, we were knocked out of the Copa del Rey because Celta were better on the day and we’re still alive and kicking in the Champions League. I think we’re in very good shape. Being a forward is a demanding and competitive position when there are massive games to play. Hopefully we’ll see them perform tomorrow”.
Arda: “He gave us everything during his time here and we love him dearly. He was always loyal to us and we remember him fondly. The fact he’s moved to Barcelona makes me happy, that shows that we’re doing a good job”.
"Arda gave us everything during his time here"
Barca: “Their frontline trio are top quality, so we’ll need to be fully focused and on our toes for the full 90 minutes. Signing Suarez has strengthened things and the beautiful thing about them is there’s no jealously between their front men. They have a healthy, happy relationship and for those of us who love football, that’s a wonderful thing. Barca are the best team in the world and those three forwards show a remarkable amount complicity, something that is rare to see. Usually jealously exists among players, egos getting in the way of each other, but it’s the complete opposite there”.