Juanfran: “Málaga have a lot on the line, but only one thing can happen: us winning”
“We believe that we can win the remaining four games”
Juanfran Torres appeared before the media after Tuesday’s training at the Sports Complex. The ‘rojiblanco’ winger acknowledged that qualifying for the Champions League is near impossible but stated that Atlético de Madrid is going to everything in their power to continue showing the good image from the last few matches and that they’ll go out to win the last four games.
“It makes everyone mad to see that we have a very good dynamic, have put together a long unbeaten streak and are playing well. We all know that January and part of February were fatal for our Champions League hopes. What can I say? Hopefully Villarreal loses three matches and we can win all of ours. But right now it looks pretty complicated,”he commented.
The Atleti ‘20’ insisted that “within the dressing room we believe that we’re going to win the remaining four games and then we’ll see what everyone else does. We have that ambition of finishing La Liga the way we’re playing. There’s a great atmosphere inside the locker room and that’s reflected on the pitch. The important thing is for us to be more united than ever in matches like the one in Coruña and for us to get the win. We did that and now we have Málaga, who have a lot on the line and we’ll be playing at home. Only one thing can happen: us winning.”
Concerning what has happened to the team in the second half of the season, Juanfran highlighted that “we ourselves had doubts. We were unable to get up for the challenge in certain games where we had to have given our best, especially in games where the intensity level drops against inferior sides. And for that reason your opponent can beat you. But we’ve changed our mentality a bit and realized that if we want to make it to Europe that we have to play as a squad and be humble. Since we received two or three pretty strong blows, I think that it allowed us to realize all of that.”
Regarding whether reaching Europa League will make them satisfied about their season, Juanfran stated that “the reality is that the most important goal for this Club is Champions League, but right now we don’t depend on ourselves to get there. There have been errors and mistakes that we’ll have to analyze at the end of the season. Our goal is to keep playing the way we have been and make it to a European competition, however it may happen, for next season. This team has to be playing in European games because it deserves it and because we have quality players who should be there. We hope that it happens but the main objective is to continue giving the good image we’ve been showing.”
With respect to what the future may hold for him at Atlético de Madrid, Juanfran was sincere. “I’m definitely going to stay, no matter what happenes. I’m relaxed in that aspect. You have to leave everything else on the side until these four games are over. We hav to do everything we can to make sure that Atlético de Madrid is as high as possible for next season. If we continue to give our all, the fans will be happy. We hope to play like that until the end and then we’ll see what happens with everybody,” he asserted.
Several of their remaining opponents are playing to avoid relegation. He pointed out that “These are games in which you have to be as professional as possible. We’re playing to get into Europe and we hope that these are nice games to watch for our supporters and that we can win all of them, regardless of our opponent and what they’re playing for. We have a lot on the line and whoever comes to the Calderón, in this case Málaga, will see that we’re also playing for a lot,” he finished.
“It makes everyone mad to see that we have a very good dynamic, have put together a long unbeaten streak and are playing well. We all know that January and part of February were fatal for our Champions League hopes. What can I say? Hopefully Villarreal loses three matches and we can win all of ours. But right now it looks pretty complicated,”he commented.
The Atleti ‘20’ insisted that “within the dressing room we believe that we’re going to win the remaining four games and then we’ll see what everyone else does. We have that ambition of finishing La Liga the way we’re playing. There’s a great atmosphere inside the locker room and that’s reflected on the pitch. The important thing is for us to be more united than ever in matches like the one in Coruña and for us to get the win. We did that and now we have Málaga, who have a lot on the line and we’ll be playing at home. Only one thing can happen: us winning.”
Concerning what has happened to the team in the second half of the season, Juanfran highlighted that “we ourselves had doubts. We were unable to get up for the challenge in certain games where we had to have given our best, especially in games where the intensity level drops against inferior sides. And for that reason your opponent can beat you. But we’ve changed our mentality a bit and realized that if we want to make it to Europe that we have to play as a squad and be humble. Since we received two or three pretty strong blows, I think that it allowed us to realize all of that.”
Regarding whether reaching Europa League will make them satisfied about their season, Juanfran stated that “the reality is that the most important goal for this Club is Champions League, but right now we don’t depend on ourselves to get there. There have been errors and mistakes that we’ll have to analyze at the end of the season. Our goal is to keep playing the way we have been and make it to a European competition, however it may happen, for next season. This team has to be playing in European games because it deserves it and because we have quality players who should be there. We hope that it happens but the main objective is to continue giving the good image we’ve been showing.”
With respect to what the future may hold for him at Atlético de Madrid, Juanfran was sincere. “I’m definitely going to stay, no matter what happenes. I’m relaxed in that aspect. You have to leave everything else on the side until these four games are over. We hav to do everything we can to make sure that Atlético de Madrid is as high as possible for next season. If we continue to give our all, the fans will be happy. We hope to play like that until the end and then we’ll see what happens with everybody,” he asserted.
Several of their remaining opponents are playing to avoid relegation. He pointed out that “These are games in which you have to be as professional as possible. We’re playing to get into Europe and we hope that these are nice games to watch for our supporters and that we can win all of them, regardless of our opponent and what they’re playing for. We have a lot on the line and whoever comes to the Calderón, in this case Málaga, will see that we’re also playing for a lot,” he finished.
