"The team needs to evolve to the club's level," says Simeone

Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid's manager, expressed his happiness at the Madrid club on Saturday, where he still has "the energy needed," and stressed that the team needs "one more step to match" the club's growth this season.

The coach begins his fourteenth season at the helm of the Madrid dugout with great satisfaction. "I am happy to be where I am, I still have the energy that this position requires, and I know the good, regular, and bad consequences that come with the role I have," Simeone declared.

He also emphasised that he expects "the best from his team this season. "We must continue on the path we've been on for some time, which is match by match and not deviating from that; seeking to grow and evolve as the club evolves," Simeone stated.

"The club is evolving enormously and the team needs to evolve to match how the club is evolving. Now is an important moment for the team to be on the same path. In all these years, at one point the team grew more than the club, then the club matched the team, then the club continued growing and the team didn't, and now the team needs one more step to match the club's standing," warned the manager.

Atletico has made seven signings (Alex Baena, Johnny Cardoso, Marc Pubill, David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri, Giacomo Raspadori and Thiago Almada) and has seen eight departures from last season: Axel Witsel, Rodrigo de Paul, Cesar Azpilicueta, Reinildo Mandava, Rodrigo Riquelme, Samuel Lino, Thomas Lemar and Angel Correa.

"Eight lads have left, for whom we all have immense gratitude for their work, they all gave their all until the day they were here, and new faces have arrived, young players, with a lot of ambition and much enthusiasm, aware of the legacy left by many of the players who have been making this club grow for 13, 14, 15 years, and with the desire for each one to adapt as best as possible to the club's needs," he valued.

Despite signings, he calls for calm

"I wouldn't rush to make such an effusive definition, of whether we are better than these or worse than those," Simeone replied when asked if his team is on par with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

"The reality is the performance on the pitch, the facts. And beyond that, it's all very nice, very good important players have arrived, but the important thing is to demonstrate it on the pitch. From there, we will earn the standing we deserve during the season," he reflected.

And he added about intensity: "We will always look for what we see is best in them, to bring out the best in each of them and to apply it accordingly to what the team can achieve in the game. There's also the opponent, who sometimes allows it and sometimes doesn't, and that's also part of the game."

He also hinted at variations to grow in the new season: "Changes are always good as long as they address what is needed. And in this case, we are in a position where we will seek to improve. I don't know if the word is to change, but it is to absolutely improve things that we can improve."

The first match is this Sunday against Espanyol, in which Alex Baena will compete for Atletico as a second striker: "Today, I understand that in recent matches, he has done very well. This Sunday, he will possibly start in that position. He can play on the right, on the left, as a second striker… We see him less as a winger. I see him playing centrally."

"We will exploit his best qualities, also looking to find what benefits the team in each match. For Sunday's game, in principle, he will start in that position," confirmed Simeone, who opened up possibilities for the "season's progression," given that Raspadori "arrived just a few days ago" and Sorloth only trained "at the end of the week."