"Atleti aren’t a violent side, this isn’t a game for wimps"

Carlo Ancelotti attended the media in Friday’s pre-Madrid derby press briefing in Valdebebas and said that he is absolutely clear about his gameplan for tomorrow’s visit from Atlético de Madrid. “We won’t be changing our idea about how we will confront this match; we have to play well, with intensity as we have always done,” he said.

Anoeta defeat: “We shouldn’t just forget about it, it was a good lesson for us. Our first 30 minutes were good, but football is about playing over the full 90 minutes. We have to avoid committing the mistakes we made at Anoeta – both individual errors and collective ones. After analyzing what happened, we all understand the errors we made and we’ll be looking to correct them tomorrow”.

Are Atlético a violent team? “No, they’re not a violent side; they are intense and aggressive but not violent. Football is a man’s game, it’s not a game for wimps”.

Absentees: “Our philosophy and style isn’t going to change because that is what has enaboled us to gain good results so far”.

Cristiano Ronaldo: “Cristiano is fully fit; he is in optimum physical shape and he is not suffering a chronic injury. He’s been training well. Last season he had an injury and this season, he has had a different problem but it’s nothing serious”.

Casillas: “He has never lost his self-confidence. We congratulated him today because today’s he is celebrating his anniversary with Real Madrid”.

James Rodríguez: “He has been working in training on adapting to his new position. It’s not going to be a drastic change but obviously whenever any new player comes in they need time to settle in. I’m very happy with how he has been doing but it’s understandable that he will find it difficult right at the beginning”.

Simeone says that Atlético are a “town side”... “I think football is a town sport, it’s not just about a team being a town side as such. All of the teams here have fans from all over the world but the essence of football is local and close-knit”.

Which side rules the Spanish capital right now? “I don’t care which team rules the capital at this moment, what matters is who wins at the end of the season. Last season, Atlético ruled in the league and Madrid in Europe”.

Chicharito: “We are all very happy with him. He won’t start tomorrow but he will be brought on at some point in the match”.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1szTEWV

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