简体中文
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said he has faith that his players would rise to the occasion when they play Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Supercup in Jeddah on Sunday night.
Atletico scored two goals in the last 10 minutes to overturn a 2-1 deficit against FC Barcelona on Thursday night to set up the fourth 'derby' in a final in the last 7 years, following the 2013 Copa del Rey, the 2014 Spanish Supercup, both of which Atletico won, and the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals which were won by their neighbors.
"Playing teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool... makes us into a better team," said Simeone.
"I have belief in my players. We're trying to make the club stronger. I get my energy from them. Seeing the players fired up and motivated helps to motivate me and then I am not afraid of anything," he said, before looking at Sunday's rivals.
"Real Madrid are a team we know very well; they have a coach who is an absolute winner. Every time they play, they show their will to win... They will be looking to field their strongest side, so we will have to think about how we can attack those positions and punish them in the way we want," commented Simeone.
Meanwhile his opposite number, Zinedine Zidane is hoping to win the club's first silverware since he resigned in June 2018.
"There are always difficult moments for teams, particularly after winning a lot, and that's what happened to these players; but to get back to winning titles is all about hard work and patience. We want to give our fans something new to shout about and we're working hard to do that," he said.
The Real Madrid coach will be without Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, and Karim Benzema through injury and illness, but refused to give any details of his starting line up, saying the attitude was just as important as the players on the bit.
"The main thing isn't the formation; that can be interpreted in different ways. What's most important is the way we go about our business."
"The message hasn't changed. We've come here to win it and are pleased to be playing the final, and we're out to put in a good performance." concluded Zidane.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
