Simeone: Watching El Clasico, I thought, "We actually eliminated Barcelona twice"

In the 36th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid will face Osasuna at home. He said he watched the El Clasico and is proud that the team eliminated Barcelona twice this season.

How to face the remaining games?

As I said a few days ago, if we play well in these three games and Villarreal lose, we still have a chance to get into the top three, which is our only goal now.

Is this an opportunity to assess youth players?

We will try to play with the lineup that we think is most likely to win the game. Of course, considering the team's current injury situation, young players will likely still get opportunities to play as before, and I hope they continue to seize these valuable opportunities to play for the first team.

How to motivate the team for this kind of game?

When you play with friends, you want to win, so no matter how unimportant these games are, you always want to win, that's the motivation, whether it's amateur or professional games. I think no one who plays amateur games doesn't want to win. Motivation comes from enjoying the game and the desire to play football.

What are your thoughts on this season?

Good question, but it might be more appropriate to ask it at another time, because if I talk about it now, it seems like I'm making excuses, after all, we didn't win any championships, and the experts will use this to talk about it. 

Have you spoken with Koke?

I promise I will answer you after I have spoken with Koke. We still have tomorrow, the pre-match press conference on Saturday, the game on Sunday, and the pre- and post-match press conferences next week, so we can meet 5 more times, you can ask another question.

How to cheer Gimenez up?

The situation is better than we expected, it has been confirmed as a sprained ankle. He is a very strong person who has gone through countless battles, he will make it to the World Cup, and I hope he can participate in this most important event for him in the best condition.

Is this kind of football healthy and sustainable?

Good question. We discussed it with some people in the football circle a few days ago, talking about the importance of the World Cup to the sports world. Many players go to the national team with injuries, such as Lamine Yamal, and many young players are injured at the end of the season, which is really a pity. Because this involves huge financial investments, and everyone also attaches great importance to the significance of the World Cup. The last one was held in December, the situation was different, but now everyone is rushing to such an event with great significance in all aspects - even political - in a very extreme state. This situation deserves scrutiny, after all, when the World Cup starts, you turn on the TV, but you can't see those important players, which is not a small matter.

Are you worried about the team losing its identity?

The wind direction and cycles are always changing, and this is a stage that teams and clubs must go through, and the players who join in the future must also have the personality to assume important roles.

What do you think of La Liga this season?

Throughout the season, we have been saying that Barcelona are the best team in the world, and they have won this league title convincingly from start to finish, with extremely high efficiency. Congratulations to them, they played incredible football, and when I watched the game yesterday, I was thinking: "Oh my god, we actually eliminated Barcelona twice."