'Italian' Atletico our toughest test - Fonseca Atletico Madrid's defensive solidity and swift counter attacks give them the attributes of a classic 'Italian side',

Football | Champions League

Atletico Madrid's defensive solidity and swift counter attacks give them the attributes of a classic 'Italian side', Porto coach Paulo Fonseca said ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Group G clash at the Dragao Stadium.
Beating Atletico will be Porto's toughest challenge this season because of the steel Diego Simeone - a former Lazio and Inter Milan midfielder who was said to "play with a knife between his teeth" - has instilled in his side, he added.


"We face a team which will pose a level of difficulty that we have not yet faced in our domestic league," Fonseca told a news conference. "Atletico are an Italian team playing in the Spanish championship."
Atletico come into the match on a high after stunning Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu on Saturday for a first success against their bitter city rivals in La Liga this century that kept them level on maximum points with Barcelona at the top.
The victory followed their triumph against Real to win the King's Cup at the same venue in May and under Simeone they have found a winning formula that could see them into the latter stage of Europe's elite club competition.

"Atletico make use of very compact defensive lines and are fast on the counter," Fonseca said. "The scenario I predict is that there will be very little space."
Speaking at a later news conference, Simeone rejected the Italian label, saying he did not want to limit his players to the style of one nation.
"We play to win, we don't play with the identity of any country," said the Argentine, who was in the Atletico side when they last won La Liga in 1996.