Luis Perea: “If we achieve the consistency we’re looking for, we’ll make it to fourth place”
“There are 19 finals left and we have to play every one of them as if were the last”
Luis Amaranto Perea was the player in charge of speaking to the press after Friday’s training at the Majadahonda Sports Complex. He’s one of the veterans in the ‘rojiblanco’ dressing room and touched on the Cup loss, the decision to not be a captain and the future of the team in Champions League. Perea was clear and concise in responding to all of the questions asked of him.
He acknowledged that the players were upset about the loss. “It’s elimination from the Copa del Rey and the clubhouse is clearly saddened. But we’re changing our mentality and we have to reach the goal we’ve set for ourselves in La Liga, which is to finish amongst the top four. We’ve never given up on that and we’re not going to do it now.”
The Colombian believed that they could come back against Real Madrid despite the first leg result. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy because coming back from 3-1 down is complicated. The idea was to not concede early goals, but you have to admit that the opponent played well enough to be in the next round.”
Regarding what the ‘rojiblancos’ will rely on to accomplish their goal, Perea said that “we have always believes that hard work will take us to the top. Now we’ll have more time to prepare for matches. There are 19 finals left and we have to play every one of them as if were the last. We wanted to keep on competing, but unfortunately we’ve been knocked out of two competitions. That’s in the past and we have to accept it. We can’t drop our heads, as there’s half a season left and plenty can happen.”
Concerning a message he might want to send to the supporters, the ‘rojiblanco’ centre-half stated that “the fans have to know that the team has to show the fighting spirit we showed in Thursday’s derby. We disappoint when you can see that we’re not showing the aggressiveness that we need during games. If the team is aggressive and forceful, the normal thing would be for us to get a favourable result.”
The worst things for the immediate future of the squad are the injuries to Agüero and Reyes. “We’ve lost two very important players, but we have a big squad. At times like these we need those who haven’t been playing as much to step up and seize the opportunity. I have confidence in all of those here in the squad. I’ve gone through very complicated situations here and we’ve come out of them.”
The fact that the centre-halves have been rotating game in and game out led the Colombian to comment that “this is just another competition. As the main players in charge of defending, we’re all committed and we all want to play. Everyone contributes what they can, although the coach is the one who decides. We have to give our best to benefit the team.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ defender made it clear about Atlético de Madrid’s objective for the remainder of the season. “We have to finish in fourth place. If we don’t, I think it would be an athletic failure. We have to be amongst the best, both at a Club and personal level, and that means being in Champions League.”
To finish, he spoke about Kun Agüero becoming a captain when, due to experience at the club, he should have been the one chosen. “It was my decision. It was my turn, they spoke with me, and I think that Kun was really going to grow as a player and it seemed like a good idea to me for him to be made captain. I’ve always felt like a captain inside the dressing room, and try to set an example even though I don’t wear an armband. It’s something that was decided on by the manager and myself.”
He acknowledged that the players were upset about the loss. “It’s elimination from the Copa del Rey and the clubhouse is clearly saddened. But we’re changing our mentality and we have to reach the goal we’ve set for ourselves in La Liga, which is to finish amongst the top four. We’ve never given up on that and we’re not going to do it now.”
The Colombian believed that they could come back against Real Madrid despite the first leg result. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy because coming back from 3-1 down is complicated. The idea was to not concede early goals, but you have to admit that the opponent played well enough to be in the next round.”
Regarding what the ‘rojiblancos’ will rely on to accomplish their goal, Perea said that “we have always believes that hard work will take us to the top. Now we’ll have more time to prepare for matches. There are 19 finals left and we have to play every one of them as if were the last. We wanted to keep on competing, but unfortunately we’ve been knocked out of two competitions. That’s in the past and we have to accept it. We can’t drop our heads, as there’s half a season left and plenty can happen.”
Concerning a message he might want to send to the supporters, the ‘rojiblanco’ centre-half stated that “the fans have to know that the team has to show the fighting spirit we showed in Thursday’s derby. We disappoint when you can see that we’re not showing the aggressiveness that we need during games. If the team is aggressive and forceful, the normal thing would be for us to get a favourable result.”
The worst things for the immediate future of the squad are the injuries to Agüero and Reyes. “We’ve lost two very important players, but we have a big squad. At times like these we need those who haven’t been playing as much to step up and seize the opportunity. I have confidence in all of those here in the squad. I’ve gone through very complicated situations here and we’ve come out of them.”
The fact that the centre-halves have been rotating game in and game out led the Colombian to comment that “this is just another competition. As the main players in charge of defending, we’re all committed and we all want to play. Everyone contributes what they can, although the coach is the one who decides. We have to give our best to benefit the team.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ defender made it clear about Atlético de Madrid’s objective for the remainder of the season. “We have to finish in fourth place. If we don’t, I think it would be an athletic failure. We have to be amongst the best, both at a Club and personal level, and that means being in Champions League.”
To finish, he spoke about Kun Agüero becoming a captain when, due to experience at the club, he should have been the one chosen. “It was my decision. It was my turn, they spoke with me, and I think that Kun was really going to grow as a player and it seemed like a good idea to me for him to be made captain. I’ve always felt like a captain inside the dressing room, and try to set an example even though I don’t wear an armband. It’s something that was decided on by the manager and myself.”