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Los Colchoneros coach, Javier Aguirre has confidently boomed that his team are the favourites in the Copa del Rey first leg clash at home against the Blaugrana.
Not many fans would forget that Atlético Madrid were completely decimated 6-1 by Barcelona at the Camp Nou in La Liga back in October.
The two teams have been forced to go face to face again almost exactly just three months later, this time in the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish press have made it a point to constantly associate that game to Tuesday night’s first leg encounter at the Vicente Calderón.
However, Atlético coach, Javier Aguirre, believes that things will be different in a cup format competition.
“It’s true that in the league, Barcelona are superior to everyone else. But in the Copa, we are all equals,” he told AS during a pre-game interview.
“In this encounter, Barça are not superior by any means. I absolutely believe that playing at the Calderón, we are the favourites,” he added.
The Mexican then went on to explain why he has taken the decision to omit star player, Sergio Agüero, from the first XI and start him from the bench.
“It is simply because I have decided to give [Florent] Sinama-Pongolle a chance to start. It was agreed upon that everyone should be given a chance to play.
“Right now, Kun has already accumulated 1,690 minutes, 100 more than [Diego] Forlán. The idea is to reduce his playing time so that he can be at his peak in all three competitions,” the 50-year-old coach explained.
Finally, Aguirre was asked if the key to beat Barcelona is to stop their own Argentine sensation, Lionel Messi.
“He is an extraordinary player, but we cannot focus on only him. If he plays, we will watch him closely, just like we did in the past.
“We will try to come together and help each other,” he ended.
Not many fans would forget that Atlético Madrid were completely decimated 6-1 by Barcelona at the Camp Nou in La Liga back in October.
The two teams have been forced to go face to face again almost exactly just three months later, this time in the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish press have made it a point to constantly associate that game to Tuesday night’s first leg encounter at the Vicente Calderón.
However, Atlético coach, Javier Aguirre, believes that things will be different in a cup format competition.
“It’s true that in the league, Barcelona are superior to everyone else. But in the Copa, we are all equals,” he told AS during a pre-game interview.
“In this encounter, Barça are not superior by any means. I absolutely believe that playing at the Calderón, we are the favourites,” he added.
The Mexican then went on to explain why he has taken the decision to omit star player, Sergio Agüero, from the first XI and start him from the bench.
“It is simply because I have decided to give [Florent] Sinama-Pongolle a chance to start. It was agreed upon that everyone should be given a chance to play.
“Right now, Kun has already accumulated 1,690 minutes, 100 more than [Diego] Forlán. The idea is to reduce his playing time so that he can be at his peak in all three competitions,” the 50-year-old coach explained.
Finally, Aguirre was asked if the key to beat Barcelona is to stop their own Argentine sensation, Lionel Messi.
“He is an extraordinary player, but we cannot focus on only him. If he plays, we will watch him closely, just like we did in the past.
“We will try to come together and help each other,” he ended.
