Atletico Madrid defender Juanfran is convinced his team will emerge victorious from their Champions League clash with Juventus.
The pair meet at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday and Diego Simeone’s men are aware that nothing more than a win will do after the defeat at Olympiacos in the first group game.
“We know that we must not lose. We will be facing one of the best teams in Europe but we have an amazing side and we’ll win,” declared a confident Juanfran at a Press conference.
“We cannot fail after the hiccup against Olympiacos and to lose twice would see us practically out, or at least it would make it very difficult to get through to the next stage.
“However, the beauty about this team is that the tougher things are the more it competes. When there are more problems the better we perform.”
Saturday’s 4-0 defeat of Sevilla saw Simeone’s return to the touchline following his six-match ban – five in La Liga and one in the Champions League – and Juanfran believes it has given Los Rojiblancos a shot in the arm.
“To see the boss on the touchline gives us all a lot of strength and energy, although we need the help of everyone, including those that are not on the pitch.
“There are people who have not been playing that support and help us during the week. We are a family and when we all pull together it is much better.”
Boss Simeone changed his goalkeeper for the only time this season for the Olympiacos game, replacing usual starter Miguel Angel Moya with Jan Oblak. Asked about the possibility Oblak could return against Juventus, Spanish international Juanfran expressed his confidence in the Slovenian.
“The one who plays will do well. For us our goalkeepers are the best and either of them can perform at the maximum level, but the most important thing is to win and keep a clean sheet.
“If Jan happens to play he’ll do well. In any case we are going to win and that will dispel any doubts,” he proclaimed.
