Simeone: “Julián Álvarez is an incredible footballer for the present and the future”

Atlético Madrid coach Diego Pablo Simeone positively valued “the great concentration” that his team offered in Sunday’s victory against FC Girona (3-0) and celebrated having “important players” this season and that they can provide “solutions”, among them Julián Álvarez, “an incredible footballer for the present and the future”. “We faced an opponent who had an extraordinary season last season and who knows very well how to play with different ways of attacking. I value concentration, calm and never losing the block that did not allow them to have the goal situations that they normally generate and our goal obviously generated more security for what was going to happen in the second half”, Simeone said at a press conference. The ‘Cholo’ believes that this advantage allowed him to “manage the second half from start to finish” with a lot of defensive security and above all with a strong and fast counterattack. “The players who came on the bench gave us what we lacked in the game, Reinildo defensively, Gallagher. So I have a lot of positive things left, a lot of balance and I think that allowed us to play a good game against a great rival,” he warned. The Argentine coach did not want to give importance to not making mistakes because they “always exist in football” and stressed that “teams that manage to have balance and that it happens less often have a better chance of winning.” On an individual level, he praised Pablo Barrios and Marcos Llorente. “When we saw him, we understood that anything that happens to him could happen to him. It makes us very happy that he won Olympic gold playing as a midfielder because he can do it. Inside, he is an important player, who He has play, vision, attacks and good pressure, and we need him to stay calm, to know that his teammates are going to help him continue to grow and that he cannot slow down,” he explained about the youth team. Regarding the versatile footballer, he stressed that “he can clearly play in midfield”, but that it is necessary to “exploit all his physical potential, whether in attack or defense”. “And that invites us in Molina to improve, to rebel and to show ourselves as world champion and Copa América champion because we need competition and because Llorente will not always be able to play at the same pace,” he said. “Depending on what the games ask of us, depending on what we interpret of what we are going to face, and always looking to compete in the best way,” he responded about the possibility now of making more rotations due to the size of the squad. “We have important footballers, players who have arrived who can give us solutions, youngsters who are very enthusiastic and we will have to manage this in the best way,” he added. Simeone made it clear that all his players “knew” that they wanted to “win” and that the coaching staff “always” looked for what they thought was “the best for the team.” “Obviously I could make mistakes, but from here on I have no commitment to anyone, to anyone, and I want to see what I saw today, a team that starts strong, that controls the game well,” he said. “And having five changes can generate for us that which allows us to win the championship and continue playing with important players like us and who contribute to the good of what matters to us, that is, the team,” said the coach of the team. mattress team. Regarding the debut of Julián Álvarez, he did not hide that “important footballers demand that things happen in an obvious way.” “People go to the field to see them and obviously to create situations that happen. We know what Julián has, we know everything he can give us and we will seek to exploit his best conditions, whether as a first striker, as a second or playing on the side,” he stressed. “We are convinced that we have an incredible player for the present and for the future. And as Antoine (Griezmann) says, we lack connection and that will give us the game, the matches, the training. Julián has recently arrived and time will tell,” he said of the forward.