Liverpool will go down as one of the best teams in history, gushes Diego Simeone

Liverpool will go down as one of the best teams in history, gushes Diego Simeone

no photo

|

Getty

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has praised Liverpool and said that Jurgen Klopp’s side will go down as one of the best in history. The Reds are the runaway leaders in the Premier League with them still unbeaten after 26 league games and are one of the favourites to win the Champions League.

The two clubs face each other in the Champions League last of 16 with EL Cholo’s side walking in too the clash as the underdogs. The Los Rojiblancos have had a terrible start to their season having been knocked out of the Copa Del Rey after being eliminated by third division side Cultural Leonesa and also happen to be 13 points off the top of the table in the race for the La Liga title with Real Madrid and Barcelona leading the pack.

However, Diego Simeone went on to admit that his side are in transition but will not back down against what will be one of the great teams in the history of the sport. He also added that Klopp’s Liverpool would go down in history alongside Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan, Brazil’s 1970 and Dutch Total Football and deserve plaudits for what they've done over the last few years.

“I have no doubt that that as we look back across all those years [of football] Liverpool will have their place in history, for certain. They have qualities, characteristics, that are different to all those teams we have admired: they’re much more direct, much more intense, have much more variety. I feel a great admiration for them,” Simeone said in his press-conference.

“When you look at [Klopp’s] Borussia Dortmund, that team was similar to Liverpool. These are teams that reflect the characteristics of their coaches, but then the potential of the players obviously makes you play in different ways. I have no doubt that they will go down as a great team.”

The La Liga side are the overwhelming underdogs against Klopp’s unrelenting Liverpool with many already ruling out Atletico Madrid as a potential opponent. That has come under immense criticism from fans of the Los Rojiblancos but Simeone went on to admit that people will say what they want but the only thing that matters is reality and what actually happens on the field.

“Nothing. What do you want me to say? It’s fine for everyone to expect whatever they imagine but the only thing that counts is the reality. All these words are for the preview. When the game starts, it’s a game, and in a game anything can happen. The stadium will be alive and they will struggle, just as we will struggle when we go there."

“This is a two-legged game and over two legs there’s a 50% chance for both teams. There are no differences [between the teams]. I trust in my players – a lot. I don’t see pessimism; I see optimism, hope, a packed stadium with an incredible desire to play. We’re preparing with passion, with the right attitude, and I don’t see any pessimism,” he added.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all