Angel Correa (Rosario, March 9, 1995), He arrived at Atlético when he was just 19 years old and is, at 26, a veteran in the squad. In seven seasons he has overcome a serious heart condition, the second-party revulsive poster has been removed and has managed to go from the right wing to the front, his favorite position.
He is one of us”, in the words of his coach, his compatriot Diego Pablo Simeone. “It makes him happy that they talk about one like that”, recognize strap, which explains that his goals from last season came from having “tranquility to define”. Of his 9 so many garters, one will always resonate in his memory: 1-1 against Valladolid in the last match, a toe goal that takes him to his childhood experiences of street football.
Question: You have started the season like a shot, Atlético’s top scorer with three goals in four games, is this your best moment?
Answer: Yes, the truth is that yes, happy for this start of the season, for helping the team in this way, so I hope to continue like this.
Q: Since last year you are playing in your position, as a forward, finally. Other years we talked about how he didn’t like playing on the right wing so much.
A: Yes, it is what I have always said, that it is in the position that I feel most comfortable and where I think I can best help the team.
Q: Is it a success for you to have achieved that, to play where you wanted?
A: Yes, well, it’s something that depended not only on me but on the coach, because he already knew it, but at the time he needed me to play on the wing and I was delighted to do it. As I always say, the most important thing for me is the team.
Q: Simeone has once referred to you as “one of us”, what do you think when you hear that?
A: It’s good, it makes you happy that they talk about you like that because I’ve been here at the club for many years and I’m very happy.
Q: Do you feel like last season you took off the revulsive player tag?
A: Yes, but it was because of the situations that arose, that he did not start as much as the starter, he came out in the second half and was lucky enough to help the team by scoring or giving assists. The press said that I was a shock, but I never put that label on myself, nor did they consider me anything. Not now do I consider myself a starter, on the contrary, I always try to work day by day to improve and be prepared for when the coach needs me to be well and do well.
Not even now do I consider myself a holder, on the contrary, I always try to work day by day
Q: Your goals were key to winning the League. The documentary ‘Another way of understanding life’ shows how Simeone helped him after the game against Betis when he failed several times, how was that?
A: Well, I already said it, it was not only the coach or the coaching staff, but also the teammates who at those times always supported me and believed in me, helped me see the door and wanted to know that I could do better, that he needed tranquility, calm when defining, that the goal was going to arrive and luckily at the end there were several that served for the team.
Q: Among those goals is that leading to Valladolid on the last matchday for 1-1 (the match ended with a 1-2 victory that gave Atlético the League title), is it the most important of your career?
A: Yes, because of how it happened, we were playing the League there, we were losing and getting to score the tying goal at that time, because of how the game was taking place it was very important, and then Luis was able to score the other goal ( Suárez) and we were able to stay with the League that we had fought so hard all year.
Q: Having lived several years of street football, does it give you an advantage in some situations? – A: I do not know if it gives me an advantage when it comes to playing, because nowadays as football is, you can’t take advantage of it, but I think they have taught me all the things that I have lived as a child to that today within I can solve the court.
Street football has taught me many things
Q: This year, with the return of Antoine Griezmann, the competition in attack is greater, how can it affect you?
A: Nothing for me, I will always work in the best way, I will give my all so that when the coach needs me to help the team. That Antoine has come is an immense joy for the kind of player he is and we hope that he is very well, because it is going to be a very difficult year and we all have to be one hundred percent.
Q: Are you the best Atlético squad you’ve played for?
A: Yes, I think so because of the names, because of the kind of players that there are, I think this year is the best, but well now it only remains to show it during all the games, throughout the year, that it is the best of Atlético in the last years. Now we have to prove it.
Q: On Wednesday you make your Champions League debut against Porto. Do you feel that with this squad it is your year to win the title?
A: Hopefully, it is the illusion that all of us have, that every year that we play it we fight it and we try it, hopefully this year it can be.
Hopefully this year we can win the Champions League
Q: Does Turin’s mistake against Juventus still hurt you in the round of 16 2019
A: Yes, it was a very difficult time for me, because it was a mistake that anyone can make, but I had a very bad time. But that is now in the past, they are things to correct, which helped me to learn and that I do not have to do again.
Q: You come from being in the national team with Rodrigo De Paul, now also a teammate at Atlético. For fans who don’t know you, what can you contribute?
A: He is a great player who can contribute a lot to the team, little by little they will see him, he knows that here at Atlético it is not easy to play, he will have a lot of competition in the midfield that there are great players, but he He is very happy to be here, and I think it is going to be a great year.
Q: And Correa, what do you dream of for this season? LaLiga already has it.
A: LaLiga we had it last year, this league did not (laughs). Hopefully again to be a champion, which is what we work for, when the year ends and you are a champion, it is very enjoyable.
Q: And the Champions League?
A: Yes, we know how difficult it is, all the teams are preparing to win it, but we are not going to lower our arms and we are going to fight, and on Wednesday we are going to start with that.
