Simeone: "We expect a packed Calderón; it will be a complicated match"
Diego Pablo Simeone appeared before the media before the match against Córdoba, a team he does not trust. He expects a difficult match, but he will have the support of the fans once again.
Simeone said to begin with that "Tomorrow, the match against Córdoba will be complicated. We need to keep growing in order to keep competing with the people at the top of the table. We have to be careful with Cartabia when he plays towards the inside because he plays well backwards and with through balls. We hope for a packed Calderón tomorrow, that will surely be the prize of all the weekends we play at home."
Regarding how Griezmann is coming along, the coach said, "I talk with him a lot. He is a young kid, who comes from doing things very well with Real Sociedad and is adapting to a different style of play. I consider him to be much more than just a winger. We talked, he agrees to giving his all to keep growing, and we need to make use of all his features: turning, short diagonals, through balls, backward playing, good shoots from an intermediate distance. The closer he is to the goal, the better footballer he will become. It will take some working time, but there is a great predisposition. We hope that as the young important player that he is, he will also start to be an important mature footballer."
Gabi is our heart, he sets the continuous heartbeat of how the team is
When he was asked about the captain, he said, "Gabi is our heart. There are players within this team who set the continuous heartbeat of how the team is. When he is in top shape, he spreads it to the team to play with the intensity that he transmits."
He believes that the team is improving as the weeks go by. He said, "We are growing little-by-little. We get to have more ball control on rival fields. It happened against Espanyol, Malmö, and also in Getafe until the sending off. The team is better positioned on the opponent's half, which is what's more difficult and we keep growing. We depend on Arda’s hierarchy, Griezmann’s through balls, the possibility of Koke positioning the ball where it hurts to make another pause before attacking, and above all, having the wingers be brave enough to offer themselves. Always thinking of empowering Mandžukić, who is our attacking reference point."
