Caminero: "It has been a fantastic season"

José Luis Pérez Caminero analyses the results of an intense campaign in which the team managed to qualify directly for the group stage of the Champions League for the third consecutive time, in addition to competing at the highest levels in all the tournaments it played in. Our Sporting Director reviews what happened during this campaign, although he's already thinking about what's coming, where the team will have to face very important challenges.

- The season is over, what's your assessment?

I think it's been a fantastic season, where we have achieved our big objective, which was to qualify directly for the Champions group stage, and we've won another title, the Spanish Super Cup. We've competed at the highest level with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the League and we've reached the quarter-finals of the King's Cup and the Champions League. The team has performed at a top level in a championship in which teams like Valencia or Sevilla have greatly increased their competitiveness with respect to the previous season, winning an incredible number of points. We shouldn't forget that we've achieved 79 points to win the third place.

- The challenge was very complicated after winning the League and playing the Champions’ final… 

We've achieved our main goal so we can keep increasing our competitiveness

You can't compare seasons or teams. There are many different circumstances to take into account. We have fought against two extremely powerful clubs that have shared the League titles for the last 10 years and we played a spectacular campaign managing to end that streak. We have also played at an incredible level in the Champions League and got to the end. But it's impossible to fight for those titles every year with the current differences, which is why our goal is to be present in the Champions League year after year, to keep growing and to shorten that distance with every passing season. I insist, my impression is that this season has been brilliant because, in addition to starting it with a title, we have achieved our main goal so we can keep increasing our competitiveness.

- The team is now resting after the intense season, but now is when the work of the sporting management team activates. How does the 2015-16 Atlético present itself?

The truth is that our work is carried out throughout the year. Maybe the is more talk about it now, but the reality is that our team works all year long to plan the sporting future of the club, they are not matters that are only carried out during these days in which the competition stops. As always, our objective will be to keep growing and shaping a team that increases its competitive level. In the last years, our policy has been to maintain the system with which we have been so successful, renewing the players we consider essential for us. And together with them, different footballers have joined the project, which has allowed us to make a qualitative leap and increase competitiveness inside the group. We believe that to be the best formula to keep growing and we're not going to change it.

- The coming season brings difficult challenges. What are the team's ambitions for the coming year?

As I said before, our objective is to keep growing in all aspects and for that, it's vital to be present in the Champions League every year, so the goal will be to look for the direct pass to the group stage once again. And of course, compete at the highest level in the three tournaments we will play: League, Cup and Champions League. We always compete at the highest level in all the matches we play and next season we will do it again. It's in the DNA of our group.

- To reach that objective there has been total confidence in Diego Pablo Simeone, who recently renewed his contractual tie with the club until 2020.

Simeone is the ideal person to manage the team in the coming seasons

Diego is chiefly responsible for the team showing that tremendous competitive level and why it keeps growing season after season. He has been able to instil in the group the unity, dedication, solidarity and the effort necessary to make the qualitative leap experienced in these last years, and we had no doubt that he was the ideal person to manage the team in the next seasons. He's a born winner who wants the team to grow constantly. In addition, he knows the club to perfection and is in perfect harmony with the fans.

- Fans who have shown their unconditional support to the team with 13 full houses and a historical record of members. What role do they play in the team's successes?

There is complete harmony between the team and the fans. They always support us and that is vital to achieve the great results that we're having. The player feels what it is to play at home with the support of our fans, they give him an extra motivation that translates to the playing field.