SPANISH SUPER CUP FINAL | SIMEONE
Simeone: "Playing sides like Real Madrid, Barça and Liverpool makes us a better team"
The Atlético Madrid coach told the media: "Playing teams like Real Madrid, Barça and Liverpool makes us better. These kind of games are nothing like ones in LaLiga". When my players are ok, I'm not afraid of anything
Diego Simeone attended the media to preview tomorrow's Spanish Super Cup final between Atlético and Real Madrid which will be played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Silverware up for grabs
"Taking on teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool... makes us into a better team. These kinds of games are nothing like the ones we play in LaLiga. There is only one result and there's no way of making up lost ground. Tomorrow's game is a nice opportunity for us".
Turning criticism into something positive
"I have belief in my players, we're trying to make the club stronger. I get my energy from them. Seeing the players fired up and motivated gets me going. When they are fine, I am not afraid of anything. I don't know what will happen if we win. First we have to play the final. For atléticos, there is nothing more important than tomorrow's game".
Atlético to train at 18:30 CET at Al Ahly Sports complex
Injury problems
“Oblak and Correa have had knocks but they're both fine and José (Giménez) trained well yesterday. We'll see how they all get on in this afternoon's session and after that we'll decide who will start the game”.
How do you see the game panning out
"Madrid are a team we know very well, they have a coach who is an absolute winner. Every time they play, they transmit that they have to win and they do win. They are without Benzema, Bale and Hazard but that doesn't change a thing, they'll be looking to field their strongest side. Their distribution is excellent and they'll have players arriving to join the attack from midfield. They've got Vinicius and Rodrygo, and if they play the team will have more velocity and more possession so we will have to think about how we can attack those positions and punish them in the way we want”.
Zidane says he's a better coach now than when he won three Champions Leagues, what about you?
“It's like life itself, we improve with age. All of the experience you build up with time helps you to develop. I think I've grown in life and in sport, and I'm a believer than you can't really separate the two”.