Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone says he is proud to be part of the Europa League final as his side prepare to face Athletic Bilbao.
Simeone s will play the showpiece final on Tuesday in Bucharest where Bilbao will be looking to deny Atletico a second Europa League title in three seasons.
Atletico won the competition in 2010 after beating Fulham in Hamburg, and Simeone is hoping his team can repeat that success in his first season in charge.
The work we have been doing is very positive, I think it s not the best time to give my opinion before the end of the season, but I can identify with the team, the Argentine said.
The players have shown that they are very competitive and they have got used to playing every Sunday Tuesday for several months.
A final is always good for any player, we feel proud to be part of it and obviously we have been training hard to arrive here.
Atletico striker Radamel Falcao spearheaded Porto s charge to the title in Europe s second-tier competition last season, and the Colombian is hoping to repeat the feat with his new club.
I am really happy to once again be in the final of Europa League, Falcao said.
I said when I arrived here that my dream would be to play in the final of the Europa League, and well, we have been playing hard the whole year and now we have the chance to win.
Falcao s countrymen and Atletico team-mate Luis Perea is wary of the threat Bilbao stirker Fernando Llorente will pose his side next week, but was quick to note their La Liga rivals have several other weapons to monitor.
We still have one game left (in La Liga) to play first and after that all our focus will be on the final. Perea said.
Llorente is a great player, we have to be careful with him, but they also have other good players.
