Diego Simeone toasted Barcelona’s league triumph but pointedly noted that Atletico Madrid dumped the champions out of two cup competitions this term.
Diego Simeone, the Atletico Madrid head coach, hailed Barcelona on Monday as “possibly the best team in the world,” labelling their title success “entirely deserved” while noting his side’s role in ending their silverware hopes in cup competition.
“Quite frankly, as we have maintained throughout the campaign, Barcelona are arguably the best team in world football and they clinched a fully deserved league title from start to finish. They showed the same clinical edge last year. I congratulate them; they play incredible football. I was watching the game yesterday and thinking, ‘My God, we knocked Barcelona out twice,’” Simeone told reporters at a press conference.
Following a training session at the Majadahonda Sports Centre, Simeone addressed the “slim mathematical chance” the Rojiblancos have of snatching third place. Currently trailing Villarreal by six points with just nine left to play for—including a crucial head-to-head on the final day—the Argentine labelled the pursuit a “realistic objective” while stressing the squad’s innate competitive drive.
“When you go out to play football with friends, you play to win. We all want to win, always. That is the spark this sport provides: the hunger to compete, whether at amateur or professional level. We are professionals, but I don’t believe any amateur takes to the pitch without wanting to win; they play for the love of the game, and for the joy of football,” the coach asserted.
Atletico Madrid travel to El Sadar to face Osasuna hamstrung by eight absentees: Julian Alvarez, Giuliano Simeone, Jose Maria Gimenez, Nico Gonzalez, Johnny Cardoso, Nahuel Molina, and Pablo Barrios are all sidelined through injury, while Alex Baena serves a suspension.
“As always, we will look to field the strongest possible XI to win the match,” Simeone explained. He noted that “several youngsters” from the reserve team are poised to feature, as has been the case “recently, primarily due to the injuries” ravaging the squad, and expressed hope that they “continue to seize this wonderful opportunity.”
When pressed on the lessons learned during this campaign ahead of the next La Liga season, Simeone remained elusive: “That’s a good question. It would be better to answer that at another time, because those who ‘know’ would label everything I say as an excuse, given that we haven’t actually won anything. I prefer to explain it later so they don’t have the chance to dismiss my words as mere excuses.”
Despite the confirmed departure of Antoine Griezmann and the potential exit of other stalwarts, Simeone dismissed fears of an identity crisis: “I believe these are natural cycles. The squad must navigate these moments, and the incoming players must possess the personality required to fill those vital roles.”