Diego Simeone has expressed confidence that Atlético Madrid are ready to finally win the UEFA Champions League after eliminating FC Barcelona to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Despite losing 2-1 at home in the second leg of their quarter-final clash, Atlético advanced 3-2 on aggregate, thanks to their 2-0 victory at Camp Nou in the first leg.
The Spanish side, still chasing their first-ever Champions League title, will now face either Arsenal FC or Sporting CP in the semi-finals.
“We’ll go into it with all our hope, with total belief. We know the strengths we have and our flaws,” Simeone was quoted on sports.ndtv.com.
“We’re ready. We’re going to go after what we’ve been chasing for many years.”
Simeone previously guided Atlético to the Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016, both of which ended in defeats to their city rivals Real Madrid CF. The last time the club reached the semi-finals was in 2017.
“It’s been fourteen years now (at the helm), it still excites me to see that the team keeps competing,” said the Argentine coach.
“The players have changed, we’ve had to start over a bunch of times, and here we are again among the four best teams in Europe.”