Filipe Luis: “Mallorca is tough, but we have to win”
“The Cup is very open; we have plenty of options”
Filipe Luis was the player in charge of attending to the media at the Majadahonda Sports Complex. The ‘rojiblanco’ left back acknowledged that he had a tough time getting to sleep because of the final play against Real Madrid in which he and Domínguez got mixed up in attempting to clear the ball, leading to Özil’s goal which gave Real Madrid their 3rd goal in the first leg quarterfinal match. The Brazilian made it clear that “it was an accident. It really hurts; I had a tough time sleeping. But all of this makes me stronger and makes me want to work harder. I’m a player with lots of personality and I only think about continuing to improve and growing every day.”
The Atlético de Madrid player stated that the team has to focus on Mallorca, as there will be time to think about the Cup later. “The team has already gotten over the hump that we had in other games. Now we have to focus on La Liga, on Mallorca, a tough team. But we’re playing at home, where we’re strong, and we have to win. We can’t think about the past, but rather have to focus on the good things that we’ve done this season and move forward.”
With respect to the fact that it’s the third consecutive Monday on which Atlético has had to play, Filipe Luis commented that “we play when they tell us that we have to play. Playing in the First Division is a privilege. Personally, I’m not going to complain, although it’s always better to play on Saturday or Sunday.”
Monday’s opponent is Mallorca, a competitor for European spots. “Mallorca is a very tough and complicated team to play against, as they’ve played great games against the big clubs. We know that they have a good manager and new players who are settling in and playing well, but at our home we have to think about winning.”
He believes that the clubhouse is in good shape to face a tough week in which they’ll have to play three games, two in La Liga and one in the Cup. “Since I arrived, I’ve seen that the players in this dressing room have a desire to get better and each time there’s been a moment of crisis they’ve picked themselves back up. Nobody wants to lose matches. We’re not giving up on the Cup; it’s very open and it’s not easy for another team to beat us at the Calderón and even less so knowing that it’s a derby match and that the environment in the stadium is going to be incredible. We have plenty of options. And also in La Liga. We have to win and we’ll be right back in it. Sure, we can’t slip up any more.”
The Atlético de Madrid player stated that the team has to focus on Mallorca, as there will be time to think about the Cup later. “The team has already gotten over the hump that we had in other games. Now we have to focus on La Liga, on Mallorca, a tough team. But we’re playing at home, where we’re strong, and we have to win. We can’t think about the past, but rather have to focus on the good things that we’ve done this season and move forward.”
With respect to the fact that it’s the third consecutive Monday on which Atlético has had to play, Filipe Luis commented that “we play when they tell us that we have to play. Playing in the First Division is a privilege. Personally, I’m not going to complain, although it’s always better to play on Saturday or Sunday.”
Monday’s opponent is Mallorca, a competitor for European spots. “Mallorca is a very tough and complicated team to play against, as they’ve played great games against the big clubs. We know that they have a good manager and new players who are settling in and playing well, but at our home we have to think about winning.”
He believes that the clubhouse is in good shape to face a tough week in which they’ll have to play three games, two in La Liga and one in the Cup. “Since I arrived, I’ve seen that the players in this dressing room have a desire to get better and each time there’s been a moment of crisis they’ve picked themselves back up. Nobody wants to lose matches. We’re not giving up on the Cup; it’s very open and it’s not easy for another team to beat us at the Calderón and even less so knowing that it’s a derby match and that the environment in the stadium is going to be incredible. We have plenty of options. And also in La Liga. We have to win and we’ll be right back in it. Sure, we can’t slip up any more.”