Diego Simeone admitted he felt “a lot of emotion and sensitivity” after Atletico Madrid fans applauded him on the 18th minute against Sporting Gijon.
Simeone’s decision to reduce his contract by two years prompted questions about his long-term commitment to Atleti, but the fans made it clear their loyalty to the Coach remained intact as they cheered him on during a 5-0 victory.
“The ovation gave me a lot of emotion and sensitivity… it confirmed what I felt. When you follow your heart, it almost never fails you,” he said after the game.
“After we went 2-0 up, there was a dangerous 15 minutes from Sporting, when they created some chances. After Griezmann’s goal, we were more resolute.
“I’m pleased by the collective performance of the team. [Gameiro] understood very well what we needed at the start.
“Gameiro is a noble lad, who strives for more and scored a goal that will give him confidence.
“We’ve created chances in every game, but this is football and sometimes one game is more lucid than another.
“For me, [Griezmann] was the best player in Europe last year, I have no doubt about that.
“He reached the Euro and Champions League finals scoring goals. Consistency will enhance all of this and I hope he’s on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or. If he maintains this consistency then he will be.”
Simeone then explained his decision to play a midfield of Koke and Saul Niguez as a double pivot, flanked by Yannick Carrasco and Nicolas Gaitan out wide.
“We did so against Alaves after 60 minutes, and [on Saturday] we did so from the start, thinking that if they played with Cases in the middle, we could find the game on his back,” he added.
“Then Sporting played well until Griezmann’s goal. We can only play like this occasionally.
“We started very strongly, although if they made it 2-1 then it would’ve been normal, but we had a great game.”
“It’s logical [to feel confident] when you score goals as you gain more enthusiasm, but I don’t think our game has changed much when compared to Leganes, Alaves and other games. We took all our chances this time.
“It was [Vrsajlko’s] first game, and it’s not easy to debut at the Calderon. He has strength and tremendous energy that we must exploit. He has time to grow and can have great competition with Juanfran.”
