Diego Simeone reveals his son Giovanni wants to meet Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16.
Atletico won Group E after beating Lazio 2-0 in Madrid on Wednesday. This means there could be a Simeone derby in the Round of 16, between Diego and his son Giovanni, a Napoli striker.
“He [Giovanni] wants it,” the Atletico Madrid boss told Sky Sport Italia.
“Right now, he is not playing regularly and he wants to play like all the players. Napoli are a great club that had a great season; now they are growing again with a new coach. We could also get PSG or Copenhagen. Any team in the Round of 16 is strong, so we need to run, be humble and believe in what we do because we are doing well,” continued El Cholo who was delighted with Atletico’s win over Lazio.
“We were lucky to score with our first chance. In the first half, Lazio didn’t allow us to have quick transitions, but we tried to put pressure on their full-backs in the second half, we kept the ball and we closed with the second goal.”
Fabio Capello asked the Argentinean coach how he can keep his players motivated despite spending 12 years at the club.
“Look, honestly, I live every day, and I am happy every day,” Simeone replied.
“I am happy in Madrid; I think this club can give even more and needs the results to grow. This is the biggest motivation for me, beyond the trophies. The biggest motivation is to create an even bigger club in Europe.”
Napoli finished as runners-up below Real Madrid in Group C, collecting 10 points in six games.