“Courtois and I may not agree, but I am grateful for what he did at Atlético”

The coach of Atlético de Madrid, Diego Pablo Simeone, assured this Tuesday that he may “not agree” with the incidents of the last derby, with the Belgian goalkeeper of Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois, but he is “grateful for what he did” in his time as a red and white and is “without a doubt” one of the “best goalkeepers in the world.”

“He deserves the place he has. Without a doubt, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. We may not agree on the ways of seeing certain situations, but the truth is that I am grateful for all the work he did with us” , acknowledged the Argentine in the press conference prior to the third day of the Champions League phase against Lille this Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. T

In fact, Simeone admitted that they had “the great fortune of playing in a Champions League final, of winning the League” with the Belgian in goal. “And it was very important in that process,” said ‘Cholo’, who accused the goalkeeper of provoking the derby, before throwing lighters and other objects.

Atlético de Madrid arrives at this third matchday in Europe after the tough defeat (4-0) in Lisbon where the team did not have “a good game.” “When you don’t play well, when you obviously make mistakes through collective work, the team suffers,” he declared.

The red and white coach pointed out that Lille, his next rival, “proposes attractive football” and plays “very well.” “In the Champions League they have lost, it’s true, but they have a good team with people who, based on the characteristics of their coach, propose attractive, brave football, with very good associative play from low areas, so I can’t imagine seeing that team that translates into the videos we’ve seen,” he said.

Precisely, Lille beat Real Madrid in the last round of the Champions League, although Simeone prefers to focus “more on away games”, because “playing at home is not the same.” “We focus perhaps a little more on the games they have played away from home,” he noted.

Simeone took the opportunity to praise Julián Álvarez, who “is getting better and better with the team” and is beginning to show all “the differential he has.” Furthermore, he appreciated Antoine Griezmann’s decision to retire from the French team after “giving away all his talent, all his game and all his hierarchy.”

“He has always been a differential in his national team, until the day he retired. The same thing has happened with us, and well, he is always a very important player for us,” said the Argentine who wants to enjoy “all the potential” of the player. French.

The red and white coach, who this Sunday became the first coach to reach 1,000 points in LaLiga history, was “confident” and “convinced” of his management. “The truth is that I have had the great fortune as a coach to be accompanied by many people who are not here today, who helped me a lot and with a lot of players who passed through these 12 years who gave themselves, they gave themselves in everything we proposed and from that I feel lucky,” he concluded.