Simeone: "We have competed in the cup with a lot of desire"
Diego Pablo Simeone praised the press room, the attitude of the players in the second half as the "team did not lose face". He also admitted that key events put them at a disadvantage.
Simeone acknowledged that "after losing the tie and being knocked out we are not happy about how it happened and it is logical and normal not to be happy. Last year we reached the final and won the Cup and this year we have reached the semi-finals. You can always do better but I think it is not bad being competitive as we have been in the Copa del Rey.”
The coach from Buenos Aires wanted to have the ball from the start, something that did not happen as expected. "I always think that when you're losing 3-0 is difficult trying to climb fast. We wanted to get the ball but could not. We tried recovering the ball in the middle with Koke, Sosa, Mario, Diego and Rodriguez to attack on the wing with Manquillo and Insua. This did not come out, the responsibility is mine but the words do not count if they are not in the game," he said.
Finally, Simeone praised the attitude of his players in the second half. "I liked the reaction of the team in the second half. It is not easy to put out face how we did, how they tried to play. I liked the work of Koke, Rodriguez, Gabi and Sosa. It is not easy to play with the difficulties we had. I value the player does not negotiate the outcome. There are different ways to lose and how to lose in the second half brings us closer to what we are because in this second half we played a good match," he said.