Diego Simeone’s statements at the press conference to the reporters present on the eve of the Champions League match between Lazio and Atletico Madrid
Eve day for Lazio And Atletico Madrid. Tomorrow evening, in fact, the two teams will take the field at the Olimpico for the first match of the group Champions League. Both are looking for an important result after the disappointments of the last weekend. It won’t be a match like any other for the Cholo Diego Simeonestill much loved by the Biancocelesti fans after his experience in the capital as a player at the beginning of the 2000s. Below, the full conference from the Argentine coach.
The positive thing about defeat gives you the opportunity to understand what to improve
“In Valencia we started well but were unable to react. Now there is the Champions League which cost us a lot and we want to do well.”
You face a team that has won only one of their first four games.
“I really like Sarri’s game, I always have. I took something from him. Lazio closes spaces well and defends well, seeking numerical superiority. It’s a team that knows what it wants with a great coach, we have to hurt him where we can.”
Two teams that finished well but are now stumbling, how can you explain this? What kind of emotion will it be to return to the Olimpico?
“Lazio and Atletico did not start again bene but the road is long and what matters is how it ends. Lazio are a great team and tomorrow we will see a good match for Lazio’s game and what we want to do. Coming back here gives me goosebumps. Everything takes me back to extraordinary years with a fan base that has always loved me and managed to win a lot. I have great memories for all the people from Lazio but above all I want to say thank you for the affection I receive when I go to Rome because it’s the same for me.”
By virtue of this love, do you expect a special welcome? Do these stumbles intimidate you because maybe they can seek revenge against a big team?
“I believe that in life you have to give without waiting, what the other does is just more because if you expect something and it doesn’t happen you feel bad. That affection that exists between me and the people certainly goes beyond an ovation on the pitch. They come from a competition where they were unable to express what they wanted. But one side of Lazio is also that of Naples. We hope to play a great match.”
On the left, what can your players give you?
“I have players with different characteristics. Galan is a winger converted into a lateral. Riquelme generates transition while Lino plays a lot with the team. Tomorrow we will find
How has your career changed with the goal against Juve? Was Cholism born there?
“We had a great team. That header was just the combination of a team play made by great, extraordinary players. It was up to me to recover the points from Juve but we wanted that title at all costs.”
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September 18 – 6.24pm
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