Last
season's Spanish champions Atletico Madrid will be ready to pounce again if
wealthy heavyweights Barcelona and Real Madrid show any more signs of weakness,
according to coach Diego Simeone.
Barca
clinched the La Liga title on Sunday with a 1-0 win at Atletico, exactly a year
after Simeone's side pipped them to the Spanish league trophy, their first in
18 years, with a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp.
Atletico
were able to capitalise on Barca and Real's inconsistency in 2013-14 but with
one game remaining this term, are left fighting for third place and a berth in
the Champions League group stage.
Atletico
have 77 points in third, three ahead of fourth-placed Valencia, with Sevilla a
point further adrift in fifth.
Simeone's
men face a tricky final match on Saturday at Granada, who are 16th and fighting
for the top-flight survival.
"We
have to prepare as a team for when Real Madrid and Barcelona are not so
attentive," Simeone told Spanish radio station Onda Cero in a late-night
interview on Tuesday.
"Last
year, they were not so focused and we were able to get in the mix but Valencia
and Sevilla are also aware of this and that strengthens the league," the
Argentine added.
"To
become champions again we have to work to finish second, third and when they
(Real and Barca) get distracted win the title again."
Once
Barca's prolific Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who scored the winner on
Sunday, retired, Atletico would have an even better chance, he joked.
Simeone
has long maintained that Atletico had little chance of defending their title
given the gulf in resources compared to Real and Barca, insisting third place
was a more realistic target.
Despite
losing top scorer Diego Costa to Chelsea, Atletico have still put together an
impressive season, twice beating Real in La Liga, including a 4-0 drubbing of
their neighbours at the Calderon in February.
However,
they lost both La Liga matches against Barca, were eliminated by the Catalan
giants from the King's Cup and knocked out of the Champions League by Real in the
quarterfinals.
"When
we said that our rivals were Sevilla and Valencia we were right," Simeone
said. "Until we know whether we have finished third we cannot give
ourselves a mark for the season."
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