Quique Sánchez Flores: 'Giving up is the worst; you can never do it”
“The lads have given me a million reasons to believe in them”
Quique Sánchez Flores made it clear that he’s not going to give up against Real Madrid. He knows that coming back isn’t going to be easy, but that his players will die on the pitch in the attempt. “Giving up is the worst. It’s something one can never do; only when your opponent forces you to. It’s one of the maxims of war. The banner hung by the fans at the training: “An Atlético never gives up; come on champion”, is very accurate. It reflects the spirit and intention of the game,” he asserted.
When asked about what he expects from the match, Quique stated that “I’d like to make Real Madrid nervous. It would say a lot about the team. We’re in a situation in which we’re going to try and play the best role we can. We’re coming off an acceptable match, and my players seem calm and very focused to me. We have the game we want to play in our minds and hopefully we can put it into practice on the pitch. We need the start and sprint of a horse.”
The coach analysed the fixture against Real Madrid little-by-little and said that “I imagine a more even match than the one at the Bernabéu. It’s going to be different. The players live off a mental state and they are very clear about what their objective is. We’re going to try from the opening minute.”
In the last few games, Quique Sánchez Flores has made several changes to the line-up. With respect to the encounter against Madrid, Quique highlighted that “we’re going to adjust the system to the players that we have. You need energy, understanding and competitiveness in any system, and you have to go all out. We have several options to replace Kun and we’re going to think them over in the next few hours.”
Quique Sánchez Flores knows that this is a special match for his footballers, and also for the ‘rojiblanco’ supporters, and explained that “the squad is relaxed. They’ve played in equally or more important games than Thursday’s derby. The fans are going to see a team that's going to give its best. We know that our supporters are going to push us on. We can accomplish qualification with what we have plus their support. Our opponent is going to give its highest level and make thing difficult for us.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager wanted to leave it clear that Thursday’s opponent is Real Madrid and not Mourinho. “We’re not playing against him; we’re playing Real Madrid. Mourinho has a limit and stays on the sideline directing his players. From there, the players are the ones who play and they are the ones who have to be able to execute the game plan that we draw up. I’m relaxed, as the lads have given me a million reasons to believe in them.”
With respect to the Real Madrid he expects to see at the Vicente Calderón, Quique assured that “I imaging that we’ll see an intelligent squad. They’re going to offer us solutions that are favourable for them; traps to fall in, in which we can’t fall. They might invite us to attack and be thinking about the counter-attack they’re going to employ. They have sharpshooters that hit the corners. We’re going to play with intensity and in the part of the pitch that we want to. We’re going to play intensely, but cautiously.”
To finish, Quique touched on the physical states of Perea and Tiago and pointed out that “there are players who aren’t at 100%. Tiago made a huge effort against Mallorca and held on. Perea is pretty good. He was in bed for two days, but is ready to go. I’d say that Perea at 80% is equal to other players at 150%; he’s very strong.”
When asked about what he expects from the match, Quique stated that “I’d like to make Real Madrid nervous. It would say a lot about the team. We’re in a situation in which we’re going to try and play the best role we can. We’re coming off an acceptable match, and my players seem calm and very focused to me. We have the game we want to play in our minds and hopefully we can put it into practice on the pitch. We need the start and sprint of a horse.”
The coach analysed the fixture against Real Madrid little-by-little and said that “I imagine a more even match than the one at the Bernabéu. It’s going to be different. The players live off a mental state and they are very clear about what their objective is. We’re going to try from the opening minute.”
In the last few games, Quique Sánchez Flores has made several changes to the line-up. With respect to the encounter against Madrid, Quique highlighted that “we’re going to adjust the system to the players that we have. You need energy, understanding and competitiveness in any system, and you have to go all out. We have several options to replace Kun and we’re going to think them over in the next few hours.”
Quique Sánchez Flores knows that this is a special match for his footballers, and also for the ‘rojiblanco’ supporters, and explained that “the squad is relaxed. They’ve played in equally or more important games than Thursday’s derby. The fans are going to see a team that's going to give its best. We know that our supporters are going to push us on. We can accomplish qualification with what we have plus their support. Our opponent is going to give its highest level and make thing difficult for us.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager wanted to leave it clear that Thursday’s opponent is Real Madrid and not Mourinho. “We’re not playing against him; we’re playing Real Madrid. Mourinho has a limit and stays on the sideline directing his players. From there, the players are the ones who play and they are the ones who have to be able to execute the game plan that we draw up. I’m relaxed, as the lads have given me a million reasons to believe in them.”
With respect to the Real Madrid he expects to see at the Vicente Calderón, Quique assured that “I imaging that we’ll see an intelligent squad. They’re going to offer us solutions that are favourable for them; traps to fall in, in which we can’t fall. They might invite us to attack and be thinking about the counter-attack they’re going to employ. They have sharpshooters that hit the corners. We’re going to play with intensity and in the part of the pitch that we want to. We’re going to play intensely, but cautiously.”
To finish, Quique touched on the physical states of Perea and Tiago and pointed out that “there are players who aren’t at 100%. Tiago made a huge effort against Mallorca and held on. Perea is pretty good. He was in bed for two days, but is ready to go. I’d say that Perea at 80% is equal to other players at 150%; he’s very strong.”