Simeone: "Seville are a tough opponent, ready and eager"
Diego Pablo Simeone appeared at a press conference after training at the Vicente Calderon. He is not thinking about anything other than the next game and winning in the Pizjuan.
Argentina coach predicts a great game against Sevilla "The atmosphere in Seville is fantastic. Whenever we play play there, and in my time as a player, the atmosphere is amazing whoever they’re playing against".
Diego Costa and Koke are a booking away from suspension for accumulation of yellow cards in the Pizjuan and if they pick up a yellow one, they would miss the derby. Simeone did not think it was a problem. "I always felt it's a lack of respect to the opponent to say that there is a game more important than another and therefore I always look at the current game and that’s Seville. How do I know if Costa wakes up with the flu on Saturday and can not play like what happened to Filipe. We look at the game coming up and will try to do all that we can to win it.” Said Simeone.
The clash against Sevilla will be a game of high tension after the Seville were knocked out of the cup by Atleti. "All games are not equal. The cup match happened and can not be repeated because there is no final at the end of it just these three points. Seville has a squad with technical quality, they should be higher in the league. They are very powerfulfrom midfield forward with Reyes, Navas, Rakitic, Negredo, Kondogbia ... They are a tough opponent, ready and eager".
Seville is a very strong opponent at home, something that does not surprise Simeone. "Sevilla are one of the teams that created more chances on goal per game because they have great players in attack. Perotti is growing in to it, Navas is still dominant. Negredo is a decisive player in the area and they have Rakitic who arrive well. Medel's has presence, in terms of intensity. I imagine that Maduro or Rakitic or Perotti will play, they are all major players so I'm not surprised they've have a great record at home,” he said.
After Koke’s display in the match against Granada, the man from Buenos Aires confirmed that "Koke, as a midfielder, is an alternative. We have always been looking for a different option instead of the defensive midfielder. In my teams, in the middle, I've always had a defensive midfielder cutting, but sometimes that is not enough due to the characteristics of that one and you have to have two. Therefore, we sought to offset that with two, instead of leaving one doing that job .. The best players always play through the middle and Koke is growing. The good thing about him is that it is a versatile player and can play on both sides of in the midfield.“
Finally, he was asked about the criticism of Falcao in recent weeks, Simeone "I think it's fine that way. He is one of the best players out there and obviously demands the best. When you go one or two games without a goal, you must demand more and he does that of himself. But hey, Radamel numbers are impressive. Hopefully we can continue continue on the same tracks with the forwards. 22 23 24 are a lot of goals, and I do not know what has been the history of the last forwards at Atletico Madrid in terms of goals at this stage of the tournament. One thing is to score 22 goals a year and the next year go down to 14 and another back up to 22, 23, 24 goals in two years. The criticism is understandable and you have to endure it. When you lose, you have to try to win," he said.
