This Sunday (4:15 p.m., Movistar), against Leganés, Atlético de Madrid will fulfill the sanction of closing the south end that on Thursday the Appeal Committee reduced from three to one match due to the incidents of the last derby. The match coincides with the supporters club day that the club celebrates every year. During the morning, activities will be organized for fans. Diego Pablo Simeone has always defended the alignment of what he considers the four legs that support the club, the players, the coaching staff, the leadership and the fans. The Argentine coach was questioned about how the emptiness of the stands will affect the team: “Like any team if the stands behind the goal are not there. Obviously, they are people who are always singing, always trying to enthuse the entire audience. There will be 5,000 missing, but we have 55,0000 or 60,000 to compensate for the 5,000 that will not be there.”
Regarding how he has handled himself in these two turbulent weeks since the derby, Simeone responded: “Leaving all situations in the hands of the club, who is handling it in the best way, identifying people that has to go out and take care of our fans, those who are continually with us, who are a lot. Surely tomorrow there will be a fantastic atmosphere and we hope, once in the game, to work accordingly to what we have been proposing these two weeks.”
The club decided not to stop the sanction, requesting a precautionary measure even though it is always granted in these cases. They accept the reduction of the partial closure from three games to one and from 45,000 euros to 3,000.
Already focused on the competition, Simeone was invited to clarify the words he said at the end of the match in Anoeta. “We will continue playing our League,” he said after the draw against Real Sociedad. We already explained it a thousand times. We do it again. There are two Leagues. On the one hand, trying to get excited and working to try to reach Madrid and Barcelona. In the last twelve years we won two leagues. Therefore, there are Barcelona and Madrid on one side and, on the other, all those who are running to be in the place where Atlético is, which is the one that, in these twelve years, has accompanied Madrid and Barcelona. “Girona had a great season last year and took the place that others are working very well to take that place.”
Finally, they asked him about the statements of Samu Omorodion, transferred to Porto this summer and protagonist of a spectacular scoring start. The under 21 international assured that Atlético did not give him opportunities. “We try to be fair in seeking the best for the club and the team. He knows that on June 28 he sent a message that made it clear that he did not want to be at Atlético,” Simeone concluded.
