Atletico Madrid coach Abel Resino has called on his players to show they can mix it with the best ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash at home to Porto.
Abel, who replaced Javier Aguirre as Atletico coach just over two weeks ago, saw his team lose for the first time under his guidance as Atletico went down 1-0 away to Sevilla at the weekend.
Now he makes his European debut as a coach, knowing that Atletico needs a good performance in the Vicente Calderon Stadium to be able to take a good result to Portugal for the return leg.
Speaking to newspaper Diario Marca on Monday, Abel insisted his players have the quality to reach the quarterfinals and then advance even further in the competition.
"We aspire to the maximum in the Champions League, Atletico Madrid has always to aim as high as possible, so why are we going to give up on anything?" he said.
"We always have to try and win everything and at this moment, Atletico Madrid is not inferior to Porto," added the Atletico coach.
Atletico has lost the services of defender Luis Perea, who had to go to hospital after suffering a head injury against Sevilla. But Kun Aguero will return to the team after being rested in the Sanchez Pizjuan
"It is an even tie between the two teams and either of the two can qualify," said Abel, who wanted the players to give the fans something to cheer about.
"Winning would give us a huge morale boost and would be great for the fans. We have to try and give them something to remember and go as far as possible in the Champions League," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency Feburary 24, 2009)
