MADRID, 3 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The CEO of Atlético de Madrid, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, addressed this Thursday to the “thousands of Atletico fans” who are “disappointed” by the “European elimination” to ask them for a “general perspective” of the successes achieved with Diego Pablo Simeone and appeal to the “unity”.
“I am writing to you and to the thousands of Atletico fans who, like me, feel deeply disappointed by our elimination from Europe. I do not intend to justify our poor performance in this edition of the Champions League, we are all aware that it has been a failure and we must have the humility to admit it,” he says in a letter published on the Atlético website.
“Our first goal was to get through the group stage and unfortunately, although we deservedly failed to do so. All of us who are part of the club, directors, coaches and players, are responsible for it and we accept it. It is a time for self-criticism , to analyze the errors made and correct them as quickly as possible”, he adds.
Gil Marín thus regrets the elimination of the Champions League and, this week, also the option of falling to the Europa League with the defeat on Tuesday in Porto. All in all, the rojiblanco leader remembers the good trajectory of the team in recent years, under the leadership of a Simeone more questioned than ever.
“The club has grown a lot in the last decade, to the point of living the best moment of our almost 120 years of history. Beyond the inauguration of an exemplary stadium and the forthcoming start of the Sports City that will take place around from our stadium, the team has played the last ten editions of the Champions League consecutively, something that only 8 clubs have achieved, and only in the 2017-18 season had we failed to qualify for the round of 16, the season in which we finished UEFA Europa League champions,” he sums up.
“During this period we have also reached two Champions League finals, a semi-final and three quarter-finals, in addition to winning eight titles, including two Leagues”, he adds.
For this reason, Gil Marín points out that they cannot “lose sight of the general perspective”. “This group, with Diego Simeone as coach, has made us enjoy the milestones reached during this successful decade, and deserves our respect and confidence to achieve the important challenges that we still have this season. The demand must continue to be maximum, but we must understand that this atypical season, starting with a World Cup, with what this entails for most of the players, is logically altering the performance of a squad of this level”, he says.
The CEO of Atlético de Madrid appeals that the season is still long. “Throughout this time we have experienced difficult situations and the group has always overcome them. The season is by no means over. Right now we are third in LaLiga and shortly we will begin our participation in the Copa del Rey, in which We haven’t played a final for a long time, and that should be an important objective of the season”, he points out.
“And for this there is no other formula than to be all together to achieve the club’s objectives. Every time we have done it, we have achieved them. Historically we have shown that we are in good times and bad, and if now we have to suffer, let’s do it , but together. This club and this team have shown the ability to always get up and faster after each fall and this time should not be different, “he adds.
In addition, Gil Marín asks the athletic fan that “unity” be the great strength of the club. “We are part of a society in which things happen very quickly, in which people tire easily of everything, with great tension often caused by reasons unrelated to football: crisis, inflation, wars… We cannot allow no external factor to disunite us instead of strengthening our ties. Unity is our great strength and we cannot lose it,” he says.
“This club, throughout its history, has been characterized by its values: passion, effort, humility, solidarity and unconditional support, and that is what makes us strong,” he concludes.
