‘Difficult to imagine Atleti without Cholo’

Diego Godin admits it’s ‘difficult to imagine Atletico Madrid without Diego Simeone’ and looks ahead to the Champions League Final.

Atletico meet Real Madrid in Milan on May 28, the second time in three years the competition will be decided in a Madrid derby, and Godin, who scored in the 2014 defeat, reflected on the match when appearing on El Partido de las 12.

“We’ll draw experience from the game in Lisbon. We know how to play against Madrid and the background is positive. It’ll be a very physical, tactical game and I think it’ll be decided by details. We’re arriving well for the final. We’ll compete at 150%,” he said, AS reports.

“People make us favourites for having eliminated Barcelona and Bayern Munich but a final against Madrid is 50-50.”

Atletico were pipped to second place in La Liga by Madrid in the final few rounds of the season but Godin insists the campaign was almost perfect for Los Colchoneros.

“I’d give it a nine, or nine-and-a-half. I don’t think we’ve already accomplished anything with the season we’ve had. When you get to a final, you want to win it,” he continued, before analysing what Cholo brings to the club.

“It’s very difficult to imagine Atletico without Cholo. ‘Cholismo’ is a group of players with the Coach until death, believing in what we do, preparing to compete with much bigger teams. The key is being convinced and work, a lot of work.

“We believe to the death in what Cholo and Professor Ortega tell us. Cholo always gives the message the team needs. He knows what to say at all times, and that’s the hardest thing for a Coach. The most passionate team talks I can remember are the return leg against Barca and the first leg against Bayern.”

Tags Diego Godin Diego Simeone
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