Copa del Rey
Simeone apologises for Vinicius insults
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has apologised for his jibes at Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr during last week's derby in the Supercopa de Espana.… Show More
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has apologised for his jibes at Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr during last week's derby in the Supercopa de Espana.
Tempers threatened to boil over as Madrid beat Atleti 2-1 in a frantic semi-final.
Vinicius went off as a substitute late in the second half, but he was then involved in a war of words with Simeone, who reportedly told the Brazilian that he would be sold by Madrid president Florentino Perez.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of Atleti's Copa del Rey tie with Deportivo La Coruna, Simeone explained he regretted his actions.
"First of all, I'd like to apologise to Florentino Perez and Vinicius for the incident the other day," Simeone said.
"It wasn't right of me to act that way, and I accept that it wasn't right."
Xabi Alonso, who has since left Madrid after a difficult seven-month spell as head coach, hit out at Simeone for showing a lack of sportsmanship, and Simeone acknowledged he was not looking for forgiveness.
Reflecting on Monday's (AEDT) final, which was won 3-2 by Barcelona, Simeone said: "[Real Madrid] deserved to advance [to the final].
"Barcelona is a very good team and they have a very strong playing style."
Atleti is fourth in LaLiga, 11 points adrift of leader Barcelona, while it is by no means guaranteed a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
The Copa del Rey is likely Atleti's best route to silverware this season, but when asked about his desire to keep going in his 15th year at the club, Simeone said: “The responsibility has been there from day one.
"It doesn't take me out of my focus, I know the goal, I know what the path is, I'm not going to stop until my energy runs out."
Deportivo is fifth in the second tier of Spanish football, but Simeone is expecting a stern challenge.
He added: "A brave team, they have significant counter-attacking power, they compete very well regardless of the result, they eliminated Mallorca, who we know don't give anything away. It will be a tough, difficult match."
