Tiago: 'We’re playing at home and we have the confidence to pass through”
“The opening minutes of the match will be key”
Tiago knows that one of the keys to being able to come back in the qualifying tie against Real Madrid lies in holding them off in the opening minutes. The ‘rojiblanco’ central midfielder commented at his press conference that “we can come back. The opening minutes are going to be crucial. We’ll have to get stuck into the match early. We can surely come back in this round with the help of our supporters. It’s going to be harder without Kun, as he provides you with brilliant skill. He contributes things that nobody expects and can score a goal on any play. On the other hand, Diego Costa provides more strength and helps out a lot in the midfield. He also collaborates in aerial play, as sometimes we can’t move the ball and we look for him up front.”
With respect to the chants from the Atlético faithful during Monday’s clash against Mallorca in reference to Real Madrid, Tiago opined that “we hope that they help us out on Thursday. We’re going to give all we have. They, just as we do, want to win. It’s a match that’s different from a league fixture. We’re going to be facing a great side and we’re behind on the scoreboard, but we’re playing at home and we have the confidence to pass through.”
In breaking down the tactical approach that they’ll have to take to win the qualifying round, the Portuguese player explained that “Real Madrid will come out strong. They’ll try to score a goal as quickly as possible to finish off the tie. That’s why I think that we also have to come out hard so that they drop back their lines. Unquestionably, I’d like Cristiano Ronaldo not to play because of all he contributes to his team. I see a solid opponent that is tough to play against. They transition very fast. Despite being a young squad, they act like adults. When we have the ball, our players behind the ball will have to be very attentive, as Real Madrid is very strong on the counter-attack.
“Honestly, Real Madrid’s draw in Almería doesn’t mean anything to me. We expect a very tough opponent. They’re a team that wants to win titles and they view the Copa del Rey as being a solution,” he asserted.
Asked about the win over Mallorca, the central midfielder was clear and said that “it was a very important win after the team’s previous games. Additionally, we kept a clean sheet. Without playing a great match, we did a very good job as a team, and that was important.”
Concerning the positions that he played in during the course of the encounter against Mallorca, at times on the wing and others more centrally, Tiago believes that “we had had problems playing with a 4-4-2 in other games and the coach decided to change things up and it worked. We went into the half up 2-0. Perhaps we didn’t play that well, but the team showed intelligence.”
To finish, the footballer acknowledged that he had retired from the Portugues national team, but preferred not to go into greater depth on the topic. “On Monday I sent a letter to the President of my federation to tell him that I was leaving the national team. It hurts me to talk about this; it was a very difficult decision to make,” Tiago concluded.
With respect to the chants from the Atlético faithful during Monday’s clash against Mallorca in reference to Real Madrid, Tiago opined that “we hope that they help us out on Thursday. We’re going to give all we have. They, just as we do, want to win. It’s a match that’s different from a league fixture. We’re going to be facing a great side and we’re behind on the scoreboard, but we’re playing at home and we have the confidence to pass through.”
In breaking down the tactical approach that they’ll have to take to win the qualifying round, the Portuguese player explained that “Real Madrid will come out strong. They’ll try to score a goal as quickly as possible to finish off the tie. That’s why I think that we also have to come out hard so that they drop back their lines. Unquestionably, I’d like Cristiano Ronaldo not to play because of all he contributes to his team. I see a solid opponent that is tough to play against. They transition very fast. Despite being a young squad, they act like adults. When we have the ball, our players behind the ball will have to be very attentive, as Real Madrid is very strong on the counter-attack.
“Honestly, Real Madrid’s draw in Almería doesn’t mean anything to me. We expect a very tough opponent. They’re a team that wants to win titles and they view the Copa del Rey as being a solution,” he asserted.
Asked about the win over Mallorca, the central midfielder was clear and said that “it was a very important win after the team’s previous games. Additionally, we kept a clean sheet. Without playing a great match, we did a very good job as a team, and that was important.”
Concerning the positions that he played in during the course of the encounter against Mallorca, at times on the wing and others more centrally, Tiago believes that “we had had problems playing with a 4-4-2 in other games and the coach decided to change things up and it worked. We went into the half up 2-0. Perhaps we didn’t play that well, but the team showed intelligence.”
To finish, the footballer acknowledged that he had retired from the Portugues national team, but preferred not to go into greater depth on the topic. “On Monday I sent a letter to the President of my federation to tell him that I was leaving the national team. It hurts me to talk about this; it was a very difficult decision to make,” Tiago concluded.