Atletico Madrid assistant German Burgos praised “great player” Alessio Cerci after his surprise appearance in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.
Cerci made his first appearance in two years for Atleti in their 4-1 victory over Gujuelo, having played the final half-hour at the Vicente Calderon, and Burgos was enthused by the appreciation the Italian attacker received from the crowd.
“Alessio’s a great player,” Burgos said after the game in the absence of Coach Diego Simeone.
“We saw the fans appreciate him, they cheered every time he touched the ball. He’s available to the team.
“I think we did well. We also tried out some different things to what we’ve been doing. The important thing was to qualify and that the less-regular players got minutes.
“Atletico Madrid are cupbearers and our objective is to fight in all the competitions. I asked Santa Claus for us to win, like always, the next game.
“Vrsajlko? He’s a great player, he’s adapting very well and what we want to see is him fighting internally with those who play in his position so that everyone’s in good condition, which is what he’s doing.”
