Diego Pablo Simeone takes the Copa del Rey very seriously. This is why he lined up the first team against a Primera RFEF team like Marbella in the round of 16 of the competition. He put together his strongest team with some adjustments, such as Musso replacing Oblak, Molina replacing Llorente, and Le Normand taking the position of the injured Giménez. The rest of the team is one that fans can now recite from memory, allowing the Colchoneros to equal their winning record.
This is a significant gesture from Cholo, highlighting the importance he attaches to this competition. Historically, it was a stage where players on the bench usually had some playing time. However, the winter break, combined with the scares that the coach experienced against Vic and Cacereño, pushed him to make this bet .
Thus, the match served to activate the starters who had not played since December 21. On that date, they had achieved a victory against Barcelona at Montjuic. The other side of the coin is that some players, like Lino, Riquelme, Reinildo, and Azpilicueta, who had less playing time, were left without participation.
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Particularly notable are the cases of Reinildo, who has not played since November 30 against Valladolid; a few days later, Azpilicueta was on the field for the last time on December 5 against Cacereño; Riquelme’s last match dates back to December 11 against Slovan Bratislava; while Lino has been more regularly involved, with his last duel coming against Getafe.
This is why Diego Pablo Simeone organized a training match on Kings Day for the players who were substitutes against Marbella. The Unit B team consisted of Musso; Llorente, Azpilicueta, Witsel, Reinildo; Riquelme, Monserrate, Koke, Lino; Correa, and Rayane. In this match, they showed their desire with a crushing 7-0 victory against the youth team.
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