D. Simeone: "Athletic Bilbao" - a great team © EuroFootball.com

Madrid's "Atletico" club strategist Diego Simeone spared no praise for the Bilbao "Athletic" team, which they had to face in the quarter-finals of the "Copa del Rey" tournament.

In the King's Cup match on Wednesday evening, D. Simeone's players defeated the Basques away with a score of 2 - 1, but the coach himself insists that any team could have won.

"We played against a great opponent. "Athletic" is a top-level team," praised the 43-year-old coach his rivals.

"We controlled the field for the first half hour, but not the ball. Diego Costa and Raul Garcia had good chances to score, but in the last 10 minutes, "Athletic" created chance after chance."

"We started the second half well, scored a goal that gave us more confidence and strength, so we won the match in a stadium where it's extremely difficult to play," said D. Simeone.

In the King's Cup semi-finals, Madrid's "Atletico" footballers will face a city derby with the "Real" club.