Miguel Angel Moya has criticised the perception of Atletico Madrid as a violent team, insisting the champions are just intense.
Moya has been interviewed by AS and the complaints over Atletico’s style were a subject of discussion, as was the defeat to Valencia in the last League game before the international break.
“We wanted to strike a blow on the table [against Valencia] in a very intensive week, where we played Sevilla, Valencia and Juventus,” the goalkeeper said.
“Sometimes in football you can’t explain such a defeat. Everything happened in 15 minutes and you can’t break it down for analysis.
“The balance is that the start to the season has been positive. Our opponents are Sevilla, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.
“As for the other two [Real Madrid and Barcelona], if we can be close to them, then that’s for the better. Currently Valencia and Sevilla are ahead of us. It’s early though.
“Our position isn’t bad but we want to be better. I don’t want to look beyond the next game, against Espanyol, though. That’s our next mission.”
On the subject of Atletico’s supposed violent style, Moya said the players try to laugh it off so as not to feed the fire.
“We can’t ignore it. We’ve heard it but I think it comes more from the Press,” he said.
“We almost take it humorously. We don’t put any importance on it and don’t want to create a controversy.
“There are a lot of teams, including Atletico, who base their game on intensity. This is a contact sport and intensity is within the rules. That’s to our benefit.
“I don’t like to be called violent. We’re strong. But we don’t have a magic wand to change people’s opinions.”
