Carrasco on Simeone’s pet hates: “Backheels, they annoy him”

Yannick Carrasco gave an interview to Belgian outlet Pickx+ Sports, in which he revealed Simeone’s tastes in football, and what El Cholo has instructed him to do to stifle Kevin De Bruyne - his colleague and room mate in the national side.

Simeone: “He hates backheels. That’s something he really doesn’t like. I couldn’t tell you the exact reason why. Maybe it’s because there is a greater chance that you could injury yourself when backheeling the ball. In that movement, when you are drawing your foot back, you increase the chances of damaging your hamstring... I don’t know? What does he like? Ah, when you sprint back and recover the ball with a clean challenge, or when you win the ball back just as the opponents are

mounting a counter-attack. Whenever we do that, he signals to the fans to applaud”.

Atlético’s style: “Obviously the coach has his own philosophy and prefers us not to concede goals. But in the 10 years he has spent at Atlético he has had a lot of different players and his teams have still managed to evolve. For example, at moment we have a lot of players who are good on the ball. So his philosophy is still there but he’s adapted it a little to suit the players he has”.

De Bruyne: “It’ll be a game within a game for us. To be eliminated by someone you are friends with in the national team would leave a bitter taste. There is a certain rivalry that’s for sure - but in a good way”.