Champions League 2016 Quarterfinals: Barcelona – Atletico de Madrid preview
After the loss to Real Madrid, Barcelona will face another elite team that knows Barcelona very well. Atletico Madrid has arguments to beat Barcelona and despite Pique’s warning that “Barcelona could be unstoppable”, his comments might be attributed to hide some fear and danger in Barcelona. side. The question is which team is the most confident because talents will be displayed on the pitch.
Additionally Messi has just be named in the largest money off-shore scam of all time and might face judicial charges..! On top of this, Neymar has been rumored to join Paris Saint-Germain next summer. So indeed we have all the ingredients for a major upset and a goodbye Barcelona from all Madrid – Real’s fans included! Will we?
Coach Barcelona – Enrique on the tie:
“Atlético Madrid are a top-notch team, very dangerous in different ways, and very complete. That’s why they are where they are. They are competitive and totally reliable. They are unique. We will compete to the maximum, for sure. I do not know if we will win or not, but the team is good enough to continue to be the same team we’ve seen in recent months.
“I have great faith in my players and in the path they’ve taken to win titles for Barça. We will not change our style of play. We want to control the ball on their side of the field and ensure the fewest number of transitions to prevent counterattacks. The goal is to play better than our opponents because that will lead us closer to victory.”
“We’d like to win without conceding goals, if possible. If we can be better than them, we have to take advantage of it because we will have a very tough return leg.”
Coach Atleti Simeone:
“We expect the best Barcelona. We understand they will go for the win because they play at home but we are optimistic. We know that it’s a very difficult game, we know that it’s a match with a very strong rival, but I have great faith in my team.”
I think that we know each other well enough. I don’t think there will be many surprises in terms of what the teams present. They are very clear in their game. With Luis Enrique, they are doing spectacularly well and we have been working with a fairly solid philosophy and structure.“
