NEVER LET IT be said that Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has let success, however fleeting, go to his head.
Simeone has declared that he will never coach Atletico’s great rivals Real Madrid out of respect for his club.
The former Argentina international has been in charge at Estadio Vicente Calderon for almost 12 months and led them to a Europa League triumph last season.
“I would never coach Real Madrid because I’m sentimental about the old things. I must be mad but it lives in my heart what I feel for this football club,” he told Argentine media outlet Rock and Closs.
“I have a contract until the end of the season and if you know me then you know I go on feelings. At the moment I feel good and I hope we can continue game by game, achieving what I’ve always wanted for Atletico.”
Flying start
Atletico are joint top of La Liga on 19 points alongside Barcelona with seven matches played this season.
“The credit goes to the players and we have taken advantage of the different characteristics they possess,” said Simeone.
“What we have is a strong squad, which is shown by the way in which we have scored goals.
“Today we have more goals in us as Raul Garcia has come back from Osasuna and because (Diego) Costa stayed before (Eduardo) Salvio left, which gives (Radamel) Falcao and Adrian (Lopez) many more goal-scoring opportunities.”
