Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid, is placing his faith in the passionate support of the club’s fans to fuel their success in their inaugural home match of the La Liga season. The opponent? Girona, the team that surprised many with their performance last year.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Simeone reminisced about his own playing days, emphasizing the overwhelming impact of the crowd. “I played my time as a footballer in front of this crowd and it was above everything else. It always pushes those who have to play and hopefully we can release the energy of the stadium onto the pitch,” he declared.
Following a somewhat disappointing start to the season with a 2-2 draw against Villarreal, Simeone expressed his confidence that the home advantage would be crucial in securing a victory against a formidable opponent like Girona. He was deeply moved by the enthusiastic welcome received by the team’s new signings, including former Premier League stars Julian Alvarez and Conor Gallagher, as well as Spanish Euro 2024 champion Robin Le Normand. More than 30,000 fans packed the Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday to witness the unveiling of these new players.
“The other day at the unveilings, when I saw the recognition given to the new boys and how so many people came to see those players, I was thrilled,” Simeone shared. “Today we have the chance, with a lot of hard work, to put together an interesting and competitive squad and we have to be aware of the place we are in and the responsibility that this entails.”
Simeone expressed his commitment to building a strong squad, emphasizing the club’s heritage and the passion that defines it. He also revealed that he expects to finalize two more additions to the team before the transfer window closes in a week. Atletico has already invested over €200 million ($223.80 million) in bolstering their ranks after a less than satisfactory season that saw them finish fourth in the La Liga standings.
“We are fulfilling everything we talked about at the beginning of the summer, the path is going the way we wanted, we are on the way to closing it; we are still missing two players who should arrive soon, in a few hours they will be with us,” Simeone stated.
One of these anticipated additions is French defender Clement Lenglet, who is reportedly set to join the club on a season-long loan from Barcelona. This move is driven by Barcelona’s urgent need to reduce their wage bill to comply with La Liga’s financial regulations.
