Atletico Madrid captain Gabi Fernandez says it will be a 'dream come true' if his side defeat Chelsea in the European Super Cup.
Europa League holders Atleti face Roberto Di Matteo's Champions League winners at the Stade Louis II in Monaco tomorrow night.
Gabi believes his team have every chance of lifting the trophy, especially with striker Radamel Falcao in such devastating form.
“Every footballer wants to compete for trophies,” the 29-year-old told Fifa.com. “Starting off the season by battling it out with a team like Chelsea for the Super Cup is pretty much a dream come true.”
“People in the street only want to talk about one thing, and that's Chelsea. For many fans, the season begins on August 31. You try to cut yourself off from all that, but it's not easy.”
“They might be a bigger name than us, but Atletico Madrid have earned respect from all over Europe, especially in the last couple of years,” continued the defensive midfielder. “On top of that, we've got the best finisher in the world, Falcao, who's lethal in the box.”
“He's already shown that he's more than capable of handling these type of games by playing so well in the last two Europa League finals, when he practically won them single-handedly.”
The former Zaragoza man did admit however, that the English side were dangerous opponents, singling out a couple of their most problematic players.
“They're so dangerous on the counter-attack. Juan Mata's final ball is excellent, and with the pace of Fernando Torres, they can cause you problems at any time.”
“It's going to be a tough match between teams who are among the best in Europe at the moment.”
Gabi concluded by praising former teammate Torres, who grew up in the Atleti youth system and spent six years in their senior side.
“We haven't had that much contact since he left, but I've got a lot of time for him because we went through a lot together, and because he's an Atletico great.”
“He's already come out and said that it'll be the most memorable game of his career, but hopefully things won't go his way this time.”
