Atlético is excited about the possibility of unseating Real Madrid from second place in the League. The colchoneros play tomorrow, Sunday, against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, a scenario that they are not usually good at, but they travel after thirteen games without defeat, in which they have added ten wins and three draws, the best streak of the season .
In his press conference this Saturday at El Cerro del Espino, and as usual for him, Diego Siemone was full of praise for the rival coach: "I see a Barcelona that I really like. It has grown enormously since the arrival of Xavi and it is pure Barça style", he affirmed.
And he continued: "They have had a great season in LaLiga and they have improved in defense and that is a plus for a style of play that will always be offensive, since Barcelona historically has that game due to the offensive characteristics of its players. The defensive improvement will Xavi's work gives added value”, he stated.
The Argentine coach spoke of how bad the Camp Nou is for him: "I didn't win there because this is football and we always find ourselves against great teams. In all these years, Barcelona has had great teams and squads. But we have competed quite well and we want to follow our line, our path”.
Simeone highlighted Griezmann's great moment: His growth is extraordinary. He is a noble boy, a team player. When he is well we play different football. We suffered from him in a large part of last season, in which he did not reach his level, and in this one in the first half, but he is fine now. I will always remember the game before the World Cup, running like a cool 18-year-old and having the World Cup four days away. Not everyone has that and he has it.
The Atlético coach regretted the absence of Memphis Depay: "He is not training with us yet. We hope that he will join the team in the next games. The players have a recovery time and we have to wait for this", he commented.
Simeone did not want to assess whether they would have hopes of winning the title if they won tomorrow in Barcelona: "I am left with the fact that we played an important game and that we have to play the way we believe we have to to continue in this line".
The Argentine coach also spoke about the evolution of his Atlético: "We have seen how Barcelona has improved defensively. City are also improving in defence, but we have improved offensively. There is growth in our team that is from now: the characteristics of our players and we agree with them," he said.
Simeone did not go into the question of whether to play differently day or night, referring to what Xavi Hernández said in Getafe: "I do not think what my colleagues think or what any player says. At the time they set we will have to play and we will be prepared for it. And he's done," he concluded.
