Simeone said first, that "Schuster was an extraordinary player. I have absolute admiration for the player he was and obviously I would have liked to share the field with a midfielder of his talent.” He said that Saturday's opponent is "growing". "As for Malaga, I see a logical growth after a coaching change and many changes within the team. Today is a more intense and aggressive team, with good play on the wings they cause problems from set pieces."

The arrival of Jose Sosa is great news for Atletico as it increases competitiveness in the squad. "We've said it before, before a possible arrival might be a possible solution. Signing Jose makes me very happy, he is a player who I always wanted to have again since I had him at Estudiantes. H’s a very dynamic player and can be adapted to different positions. He has the desire to be involved as quickly as possible with the work of the coaches, he know what we want. We need people to come to us committed, to put on the shirt and play."

The return after the Christmas break was marked by the desire from the whole squad to get back on the playing fields. "The fact is that we are very excited. When you are approaching the game, the level of competition increases in training and we go in to the game committed and expecting a tough match against Malaga."

Finally , Diego Pablo Simeone stressed that if they stray away from the "game by game" philosophy, they will fail to continue to grow the way they have been doing. "The game by game approach goes with the day to day life. Many people in society have to fight every day. We cannot forget this. We are forced to continue in this line because we know what our strengths and our shortcomings are," he concluded.