Football
Nick Ames, ESPN.com writer 8y

Atletico Madrid playing to win against Bayern Munich - Diego Simeone

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has admitted that he is nervous before all the club's matches, not just ones of the level of Tuesday's Champions League semifinal return leg against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena.

Los Colchoneros impressively saw off Bayern Munich 1-0 in the semifinal first leg at the Vicente Calderon last Wednesday, and Simeone said that he takes nothing for granted.

"I am always afraid because I know I can be fired after any game," the Argentine coach said. "We are coming out to win and they will too. We are two teams who want to win. We know what we have to do but we are coming out to win."

The team renowned for their dogged defending might be fancied to reach a second final in three years by adopting a cautious approach, but Simeone rejected the idea that his team will merely be content to hold on to their advantage and said that elements of their performance in the opening 45 minutes of the first leg set the standard they have been aiming for.

"We have to look at the reality," Simeone said in his prematch news conference at the Allianz Arena. "We want to win tomorrow. That is our idea and our plan. We want to play football, and play really well. Tomorrow it will depend on our mental strength and who interprets the situations best.

"There were moments in the first half last week when we played how we want to, how we feel good. We put pressure on, tried to win the ball back and switch quickly into attack. We played very well in the challenges and were sharp, and we'll try to do that tomorrow as well."

Atletico will be boosted by the return of influential centre-back Diego Godin, who has been passed fit after recovering from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the first leg. Invited to assess the difference between this season and 2013-14, when Atletico's progression to the final caught many by surprise, Simeone said that his team has developed constantly during his tenure.

"The work we've done for the last four and a half years is obviously paying dividends now," he said. "We've got a lot of young players, experienced players, new players too, and that's a lot of fun. It really gives you that will to win, to want to achieve something. We have competition for places and that's really good. If we look at the results we've achieved, we have to say we've done really well."

Simeone would not be baited by comments made by Xavi in Spain on Sunday, in which the former Barcelona star said he didn't enjoy watching Atletico Madrid play.

"I do not enjoy watching teams that close up. A big club like Barcelona or Real Madrid in my opinion must have a style of play that is non-negotiable, I mean to say that they can't play as Atletico Madrid do," Xavi told beIN Sport's Jorge Valdano. "At the World Cup, we won 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 -- but playing good football. Simeone's great strength is that he counteracts his opponents' strengths perfectly."

Asked about the comments, Simeone would only say that he doesn't play football to please others.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Since I have been coach, my greatest source of pride is to help my players reach their potential," he said.

"Now that I am a club coach, it give me great pride that I don't try to impose my own ideas or system of play but rather help the players reach their potential. This is about their potential not our ideas.

"I don't prepare to please anyone, just to win with Atletico Madrid," he said. "We are going to be faithful to our style and be ourselves. And we will point to that tomorrow."

Fernando Torres, enjoying a new lease of life in his second spell with Atletico and a tireless runner of the channels in the first leg, sat alongside his manager in the news conference and said that his team's fighting spirit -- allied to a formidable efficiency at both ends -- has been the key to a season that could yet end with Champions League and La Liga double.

"We know who we are, and we are nothing if not a team," he said. "As a team we can beat anyone -- you can see the numbers, and this season we've conceded the fewest goals in Europe [16 in La Liga], but we have also scored in most of the games from the middle of the season until now. If you combine the two you'll normally get a result at the end.

"It's our philosophy -- we die for each other. Every game for us is a battle, a war, and we need that attitude to beat a team like Bayern, who are probably the highest-quality team we've faced this season."

Torres, who hit the post in the first leg, scored in five consecutive games during April and is excited by the energy that abounds in the Atletico side.

"I feel fantastic here," he said. "Everyone fights for each other and there is a real life here. We'll show that against Bayern, playing at the highest level and really fighting to get to the final."

Godin could return to the Atletico side tomorrow along with with Stefan Savic, who performed impressively in Madrid, the man to miss out. Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco is also fit after an ankle problem and could be named among the substitutes. Simeone, however, gave nothing away.

"We have four strong centre-backs," he said. "Every match is different."

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