Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has launched a thinly veiled attack on the Spanish Supercup being hosted in Saudi Arabia, mocking the fact that their clash with Real Madrid saw an almost exclusively partisan crowd.
Los Rojiblancos lost 5-3 after extra time at Al Hilal’s Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh, where less than 24,000 fans (capacity is 25,000) saw the match. The vast majority of the fans in there were supporting Real Madrid, with the camera people having to work hard to locate a couple dozen fans in Atletico shirts to celebrate their goals.
🚨🎙️ Koke: “Next Thursday, we have a rematch. We will give it our all in our stadium.” pic.twitter.com/q9tcU2Nssz
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) January 10, 2024
When Simeone entered his press conference, he began before receiving a question, praising the support his side received.
“Firstly, I am happy for the people of Arabia who came to support Atletico Madrid. It is good for the club, people who came to support us and that is important for the growth of the club. Coming to Arabia does us good and makes me happy.”
In his flash interview, Simeone had rejected the idea that Atletico Madrid were less fit than Los Blancos going into extra time, and in his press conference, Simeone was also asked about it. With a wry smile, he explained that his players had sufficient energy due to that which they were receiving from the stands – which to many was inaudible.
“No, because the people supported us and gave us strength to compete against one of the best teams in the world, we felt that. Today we have shown that we know how to compete.”
Simeone’s criticism is not launched necessarily at the Saudi fans, but rather the decision to host the tournament there. In what was supposed to be a neutral venue, Atletico may as well have been playing away from home. Clearly, the €40m received by the Spanish Football Federation, and the money received by Real Madrid, Atletico and Barcelona is the main motivation for the tournament being in Riyadh, and Simeone’s words go to show how hollow other arguments can sound.
"In football there's no revenge. There's another game and another situation. Today we lost. They will play the final and we will not."
"You compete with tools that do it and win. Hopefully with the support of the fans we'll have more of a chance."
– Cholo Simeone. pic.twitter.com/Zgqz26lL90
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 11, 2024
