Fede Valverde was the centre of attention in Abegondo this morning.

He assured that last Monday’s victory at the Estadio Gran Canaria “is a great motivation to have won. It’s the strength to train every day. It motivates you a great deal for the match against Atlético.”

The Uruguayan international recalled, “we came from two difficult games, tough games, that didn’t give us any results. We really deserved to win in Las Palmas and it gives us extra motivation for Saturday's game.”

Regarding this Saturday’s rival, Atlético de Madrid (Estadio ABANCA-RIAZOR, 4:15 pm, Bein LaLiga), Valverde believes, “it’s a great team. They have good players, they know what to do. But we’re working really hard to change all of that, and we're doing it little by little.”

He highlighted, “they’re a really hard team. They have stars. They are very good at what they do from the goalkeeper to the striker. They’re where they are for something. Saturday is a great match and we have to make the most of how they are at the moment.”

For this reason, Fede Valverde thinks the match will be “very tough, like them. They’re very brave, they try and counter-attack, they always net in the chances they get, and we have to be careful with that.”

He promised “to do everything possible for Dépor to try and win. Do what we know, play the ball, attack and defend the best way.”

He confessed he still has not spoken to his fellow countrymen, Jose María Giménez or Diego Godín, who he praised: “They are international stars. They are the best in their position. For me they stand out not just footballistically, but the way they are as people. They opened the doors for me in Uruguay and I’m very grateful to them.”However, he warned, “we’re friends off the pitch, but on the pitch, we're rivals.”

Asked about his new position on the pitch with Cristóbal Parralo, the Branquiazul midfielder stated, “I try to do my best wherever the coach plays me. He’s placed me in that position (more towards the middle) and I feel quite comfortable. Against Las Palmas I had to mark their number 6, who’s the one that moves the ball everywhere, and I had to focus on him. Luckily, I did it very well.”

He admitted, “Our attitude has improved a lot. The results are also helping a lot.”