Simeone: "We hope to defend this shirt"
Diego Pablo Simeone, Atletico coach said that Adrian will be the substitute for Diego Costa in the team and ensures that his squad is tremendously enthusiastic to defend the shirt in any competition.
Atletico coach spoke of the absence of Diego Costa noting that "Adrian will play. He is training very well and has had a great preseason. He has picked up minutes in these early games and I think he is a player who can give us a qualitative leap in this game.”
The coach commented that " Adrian come in for Costa but that does not mean that we will play a 4-4-2. Arda could play on a band and Adrian on the other and that will give us more width in terms of attacking and positional play."
As for his opponent, he said "Zenit is an important side economically and with strength to be one of the biggest in Europe. They have experience in the competition and offer players with high level. I'll tell my players their weak points and see if we can catch them".
About the team that can be considered a favorite in the group, Simeone said "Zenit and Porto because Atletico has not participated much in this competition in recent years. These teams are better placed than us. Hopefully we will participate a little more often from now on. That does not mean that we are not growing and if we play with the collective sense and humility then we can win."
