Juanfran: “We’re going to Barcelona to win; we’re capable of doing that”
“We’re Atlético; this team needs to be in Champions League”
Juanfran Torres is looking forward to the match at the Nou Camp. The midfielder from Alicante was blistering with optimism through all his pores and already knows how it feels to win at the ‘blaugrana’ coliseum from his time at Osasuna. He’s aware that he’s now at a big club and stated that this team, with the support of the fans, is going to move forward. He highlighted that the team has turned the page from January and that February is going to be different.
A little more than two weeks after his debut as a ‘rojiblanco’ player at the Bernabéu, Juanfran said that “we haven’t earned the best results since my arrival and we had a poor spell in January. We’re in February now and we’re going with the mentality that we can win in Barcelona and from there we’ll start a positive run. The team is surely going to play much better from here till the end of the season and we’re going for our goal of making it to Champions.”
He understands both if he plays and if he doesn’t. “Those are the coach’s decision and I’m always respectful of that. I consider myself a professional, 100%. The manager always does the best for the team. I have to respect him when I don’t play and another teammate does. The gaffer won’t ever have any problem with me in that aspect. I’m available to the manager and the Club to play whether it’s one minute or ninety.”
He was asked about the mental state of the clubhouse after the past few weeks, and stated that “we had several very bad weeks with bad results and the dressing room is pretty upset. But I’ve found a strong group, as there isn’t anyone who’s not trying to get the team out of this. There’s a great group of professionals here. I’ve been in much more complicated situations, almost being relegated in the final week, and none of us are going to get caught by surprise. Obviously the atmosphere will improve if we win on Saturday.”
With respect to whether he prefers to play on the right or the left, as he played more on the right at Osasuna, he said that “I can play wherever the manager wants me. Hopefully he sees in me a player who can play in several positions, because that would mean that I have more chances to play.”
Atlético de Madrid pay visit to Camp Nou on Saturday. It’s going to be a tough task, but the ‘rojiblanco’ is optimistic. “We’re going to Barcelona to win. People can think what they want. With Osasuna, a more modest team than Atlético, I’ve gone to win and we did just that two years ago. This team is capable of beating Barcelona and we have the players to do it. Perhaps it’s a time when people don’t think we can win, and we can turn things around and show that we’re Atlético de Madrid. I’ve arrived at a big Club and I continue to think that it’s a big team and can therefore beat anybody.”
The squad continues with the goal of qualifying for Champions League. “There’s no set number of points, just the Champions goals. And I’ll keep that hope as long as we’re mathematically alive. We’re Atlético de Madrid and I say that with all my heart. This team needs to be in Champions, go toe-to-toe with the best teams in Europe and that’s what we’re going to try to do from now until the end of the season.”
He acknowledged that he contacted his former teammates at Osasuna before the game that they ended up winning over Real Madrid. “I called my teammates before the game to encourage them and I was happy that they beat Madrid for them and for their situation in La Liga. But I’m an Atlético de Madrid player and my squad is what’s most important to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish the best for the teams that have treated me phenomenally, and I was there for five incredible years.”
He was asked if he was surprised about what happened against Athletic, with a bit of a strange atmosphere during the second half. “Atlético de Madrid’s supporters have the right to protest when the team isn’t playing well. I’m of the type that thinks that they always have to be behind us and I know that they are. I know that they suffer as we do and they have to know that we’re playing hard and trying to move things forward. We hope that our supporters are with us as we fight to finish amongst the top four.”
To finish, Juanfran touched on Saturday’s fixture one last time, emphasizing that the squad is going into the match “knowing that Barcelona is the best team in the world right now. We’re going with that respect and they also respect us because they know that we have a great squad. We’re going to go out for them from the opening minute and make sure they don’t feel comfortable. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll also have our chances, although 90 minutes feel very long at Camp Nou. To win, we have to run more than them and be as effective as possible. Those are the team’s ideas.”
A little more than two weeks after his debut as a ‘rojiblanco’ player at the Bernabéu, Juanfran said that “we haven’t earned the best results since my arrival and we had a poor spell in January. We’re in February now and we’re going with the mentality that we can win in Barcelona and from there we’ll start a positive run. The team is surely going to play much better from here till the end of the season and we’re going for our goal of making it to Champions.”
He understands both if he plays and if he doesn’t. “Those are the coach’s decision and I’m always respectful of that. I consider myself a professional, 100%. The manager always does the best for the team. I have to respect him when I don’t play and another teammate does. The gaffer won’t ever have any problem with me in that aspect. I’m available to the manager and the Club to play whether it’s one minute or ninety.”
He was asked about the mental state of the clubhouse after the past few weeks, and stated that “we had several very bad weeks with bad results and the dressing room is pretty upset. But I’ve found a strong group, as there isn’t anyone who’s not trying to get the team out of this. There’s a great group of professionals here. I’ve been in much more complicated situations, almost being relegated in the final week, and none of us are going to get caught by surprise. Obviously the atmosphere will improve if we win on Saturday.”
With respect to whether he prefers to play on the right or the left, as he played more on the right at Osasuna, he said that “I can play wherever the manager wants me. Hopefully he sees in me a player who can play in several positions, because that would mean that I have more chances to play.”
Atlético de Madrid pay visit to Camp Nou on Saturday. It’s going to be a tough task, but the ‘rojiblanco’ is optimistic. “We’re going to Barcelona to win. People can think what they want. With Osasuna, a more modest team than Atlético, I’ve gone to win and we did just that two years ago. This team is capable of beating Barcelona and we have the players to do it. Perhaps it’s a time when people don’t think we can win, and we can turn things around and show that we’re Atlético de Madrid. I’ve arrived at a big Club and I continue to think that it’s a big team and can therefore beat anybody.”
The squad continues with the goal of qualifying for Champions League. “There’s no set number of points, just the Champions goals. And I’ll keep that hope as long as we’re mathematically alive. We’re Atlético de Madrid and I say that with all my heart. This team needs to be in Champions, go toe-to-toe with the best teams in Europe and that’s what we’re going to try to do from now until the end of the season.”
He acknowledged that he contacted his former teammates at Osasuna before the game that they ended up winning over Real Madrid. “I called my teammates before the game to encourage them and I was happy that they beat Madrid for them and for their situation in La Liga. But I’m an Atlético de Madrid player and my squad is what’s most important to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t wish the best for the teams that have treated me phenomenally, and I was there for five incredible years.”
He was asked if he was surprised about what happened against Athletic, with a bit of a strange atmosphere during the second half. “Atlético de Madrid’s supporters have the right to protest when the team isn’t playing well. I’m of the type that thinks that they always have to be behind us and I know that they are. I know that they suffer as we do and they have to know that we’re playing hard and trying to move things forward. We hope that our supporters are with us as we fight to finish amongst the top four.”
To finish, Juanfran touched on Saturday’s fixture one last time, emphasizing that the squad is going into the match “knowing that Barcelona is the best team in the world right now. We’re going with that respect and they also respect us because they know that we have a great squad. We’re going to go out for them from the opening minute and make sure they don’t feel comfortable. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll also have our chances, although 90 minutes feel very long at Camp Nou. To win, we have to run more than them and be as effective as possible. Those are the team’s ideas.”
