Filipe Luis: “It’s a special match for me, but I’m focused on beating Depor”
“It looks like the team is going to go into Saturday’s match in good form”
Filipe Luis will experience a special match on Saturday at the Vicente Calderón. The Brazilian emphasized that he expects a win against his former team, defended the role of the defence in the last few matches, and highlighted that Deportivo will be tough to break down with a five-man defence.
The ‘rojiblanco’ left fullback said that “it’s a special match for me because I was at Deportivo for many years. I know that there’s no friendship on the pitch and I’m focused on winning the match. Afterwards, I’ll meet with them to talk. The most important thing is to earn the three points, which we really need.”
With respect to the 10 goals that Atlético has conceded in the last four games, the defender stated that “it’s not only the defence’s fault. It happens at lots of big teams like Atlético de Madrid. We’re a side that attacks a lot and creates many scoring chances. It seems like the defence is a bit alone but this doesn’t usually happen. They had minimal chances in the games against both Espanyol and Aris, and their goals came because of small slip-ups. We’ve trained hard and also spoken a lot to correct those mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again. Giving up 10 goals in four matches is worrying, but there are very high-quality players here who know how to deal with pressure.”
He doesn’t believe that the fact that there have been changes in the back line has played a role in these encounters because “the manager plays who he feels is in best form at the moment. Obviously everyone wants to play and we all want to be available to help the team. That makes everybody go all out in training and in the games. It’s a matter of finding what works. I remember that at Deportivo we changed the defence and the team continued to defend well. Now, we’ve corrected things and have trained a lot, the gaffer has placed a big emphasis on the defensive aspect and we hope those mistakes aren’t repeated.”
The most recent games have unquestionably been discussed in the dressing room. Filipe Luis pointed out that “everything that is said in the dressing room is done to improve and lift our spirits. After losing three consecutive games in a very tough week, the team members have been able to pick up our heads and we’re having a very good week of training and it looks like we’re going to go into this match in good form. We’ve spoken a lot about everything, especially about how these errors can’t happen again.”
He was asked if the team might be feeling mentally fragile in some matches. Filipe Luis responded categorically that “against Espanyol, which the last game in which I played, I didn’t feel that they were going to score. Nevertheless, they arrived in our area on very strange plays, on tragedies, because they weren’t on mistakes, but on a string of mistakes. If the team is well-focused, it’s difficult for others to break down our defence.”
As regards how his first season at Atlético de Madrid has gone to date, the Brazilian is pleased. “One always wants to play and help the team. I’m very happy because I was coming off an injury and I had to follow a specific plan to get back in top shape and now I am. I feel good, training and playing well. I’m getting to know my teammates. I had played with Guardado for four years at Depor and from one day to the next I was next to Simão and now I know his movements perfectly. I feel better and am growing every match. I still have lots to improve on. I feel supported by my teammates, particularly because of their quality and that makes me grow a lot as a footballer.”
To finish, Filipe spoke about Deportivo, about that defence formed by five footballers. “I played one season with a five-man defence and I know how Lotina likes to play. It’s tough to play against a five-man defence. Our main goal is to make sure that they don’t take the lead, because then they defend really well. They have phenomenal set-pieces, with three centre-halves who join the attack well in Lopo, Aythami and Colotto, who are good with their heads. We have to be very attentive to them. It’s a game in which we need to have lots of ball possession and not let them create scoring chances.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ left fullback said that “it’s a special match for me because I was at Deportivo for many years. I know that there’s no friendship on the pitch and I’m focused on winning the match. Afterwards, I’ll meet with them to talk. The most important thing is to earn the three points, which we really need.”
With respect to the 10 goals that Atlético has conceded in the last four games, the defender stated that “it’s not only the defence’s fault. It happens at lots of big teams like Atlético de Madrid. We’re a side that attacks a lot and creates many scoring chances. It seems like the defence is a bit alone but this doesn’t usually happen. They had minimal chances in the games against both Espanyol and Aris, and their goals came because of small slip-ups. We’ve trained hard and also spoken a lot to correct those mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again. Giving up 10 goals in four matches is worrying, but there are very high-quality players here who know how to deal with pressure.”
He doesn’t believe that the fact that there have been changes in the back line has played a role in these encounters because “the manager plays who he feels is in best form at the moment. Obviously everyone wants to play and we all want to be available to help the team. That makes everybody go all out in training and in the games. It’s a matter of finding what works. I remember that at Deportivo we changed the defence and the team continued to defend well. Now, we’ve corrected things and have trained a lot, the gaffer has placed a big emphasis on the defensive aspect and we hope those mistakes aren’t repeated.”
The most recent games have unquestionably been discussed in the dressing room. Filipe Luis pointed out that “everything that is said in the dressing room is done to improve and lift our spirits. After losing three consecutive games in a very tough week, the team members have been able to pick up our heads and we’re having a very good week of training and it looks like we’re going to go into this match in good form. We’ve spoken a lot about everything, especially about how these errors can’t happen again.”
He was asked if the team might be feeling mentally fragile in some matches. Filipe Luis responded categorically that “against Espanyol, which the last game in which I played, I didn’t feel that they were going to score. Nevertheless, they arrived in our area on very strange plays, on tragedies, because they weren’t on mistakes, but on a string of mistakes. If the team is well-focused, it’s difficult for others to break down our defence.”
As regards how his first season at Atlético de Madrid has gone to date, the Brazilian is pleased. “One always wants to play and help the team. I’m very happy because I was coming off an injury and I had to follow a specific plan to get back in top shape and now I am. I feel good, training and playing well. I’m getting to know my teammates. I had played with Guardado for four years at Depor and from one day to the next I was next to Simão and now I know his movements perfectly. I feel better and am growing every match. I still have lots to improve on. I feel supported by my teammates, particularly because of their quality and that makes me grow a lot as a footballer.”
To finish, Filipe spoke about Deportivo, about that defence formed by five footballers. “I played one season with a five-man defence and I know how Lotina likes to play. It’s tough to play against a five-man defence. Our main goal is to make sure that they don’t take the lead, because then they defend really well. They have phenomenal set-pieces, with three centre-halves who join the attack well in Lopo, Aythami and Colotto, who are good with their heads. We have to be very attentive to them. It’s a game in which we need to have lots of ball possession and not let them create scoring chances.”