The Argentine coach insists his side should have no
qualms about the synthetic surface they will play on
when they travel to face the Kazakhstan club
Diego Simeone will not use Astana's artificial pitch as an
excuse should Atletico Madrid fail to win what he called "the
most decisive" game remaining in their Champions League
group stage campaign.
Atletico head to Kazakhstan on top of Group C having
claimed six points from their three games - including a 4-0
thrashing of Astana at the Vicente Calderon last time out.
Simeone's men will encounter very different conditions at
the Astana Arena - including a synthetic playing surface -
but the Argentine expects his players to cope well as they
seek a win that could put them on the brink of qualification.
He told a news conference on Monday: "When we were
children we played on the street – on tarmac and things like
that. Artificial pitches are just one more condition for us, like
sun, wind or snow; we should be able to deal with such
conditions.
"What I like about Astana is that they play as a single unit,
regardless of how they are set up tactically. Tomorrow we
will face a serious opponent at their ground.
"I have no doubt that, of the three games that are left, this is
the most decisive. But we are hoping to build on what we've
done in the previous matches."
Striker Fernando Torres is not expecting an easy encounter
on Tuesday despite the comprehensive win against Stanimir
Stoilov's side two weeks ago.
"We play at their stadium and they will surely feel more
confident. Nobody should think that because of the result at
the Calderon we're going to face an easy match," he said.
qualms about the synthetic surface they will play on
when they travel to face the Kazakhstan club
Diego Simeone will not use Astana's artificial pitch as an
excuse should Atletico Madrid fail to win what he called "the
most decisive" game remaining in their Champions League
group stage campaign.
Atletico head to Kazakhstan on top of Group C having
claimed six points from their three games - including a 4-0
thrashing of Astana at the Vicente Calderon last time out.
Simeone's men will encounter very different conditions at
the Astana Arena - including a synthetic playing surface -
but the Argentine expects his players to cope well as they
seek a win that could put them on the brink of qualification.
He told a news conference on Monday: "When we were
children we played on the street – on tarmac and things like
that. Artificial pitches are just one more condition for us, like
sun, wind or snow; we should be able to deal with such
conditions.
"What I like about Astana is that they play as a single unit,
regardless of how they are set up tactically. Tomorrow we
will face a serious opponent at their ground.
"I have no doubt that, of the three games that are left, this is
the most decisive. But we are hoping to build on what we've
done in the previous matches."
Striker Fernando Torres is not expecting an easy encounter
on Tuesday despite the comprehensive win against Stanimir
Stoilov's side two weeks ago.
"We play at their stadium and they will surely feel more
confident. Nobody should think that because of the result at
the Calderon we're going to face an easy match," he said.
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