Simeone on Koke's record: "He's been an exemplary captain for Atleti"

Diego Simeone

called

an "exemplary captain" after the midfielder played for the 554th time for Atletico Madrid in Saturday's 2-0 win at

Sevilla

. This was the most games ever played by an

Atletico Madrid

player.

During a routine win at the

Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan

, Koke, who came up through Atleti's academy, passed Adelardo Rodriguez in the club's all-time appearances list. The 30-year-old marked the event by setting up Marcos Llorente to score the game's first goal, which was a good one. After halftime,

lobbed Yassine Bounou to score his fourth league goal.

Simeone has been in charge of

for a long time, and Koke has been a critical player. After the win, Simeone had trouble finding the right words to describe his captain's impact. 

"It is difficult, in a short time, to express all the feelings I have for him, first as a person and then as a footballer,"

Simeone told DAZN.

"He is a guy who gave himself, who never hesitated to commit first to Atletico, with his team-mates, with the coaching staff, and that is very difficult to see.  He has been an exemplary captain for many years. It is not easy to maintain that place in a team like Atletico, with so much responsibility."

"He is very intelligent. I have always appreciated that he knows what has to be said, to whom, where and when. Then as a footballer he has given us a lot of things.  He has given us hierarchy, work, strength, being able to generate a commitment as a team through the midfielders. Now I see him in an important role, hopefully I can develop it in the best way."

Simeone put Llorente up front with Morata, and he was happy when the 27-year-old scored in the bottom-left corner of the net in the first half to end a goalless streak of 51 games. 

"I am very happy for Llorente because it is a position that interests me, I like it, where I know he can do very well," Simeone said. "He has enormous power and also works for the team. He gives us a lot of speed up front."

Llorente said that Atleti could have won even more quickly, but he was happy with how they played.

"We are happy not only for the three points and the team's victory, but also for the game. At the back we have been strong, we have had enough chances to have a bigger result. But 2-0 here in Seville is a good thing.

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