Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke said it is a dream to play for his boyhood club and believes his team can go all the way in the Champions League this season.
Koke joined Atletico at eight years of age and remembers idolising his team-mate Fernando Torres before the Spanish striker moved to Liverpool.
All of the kids wanted to be like him, Koke told AS.
We’d say: If he can do it, so can we. We had that dream And I was lucky enough to see it come true.
Since making his first team debut in 2009, Koke has played with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan and said it was hard to choose one who impressed him the most, but said the current crop could achieve something special in 2016.
[Personally, 2015] was a bit of everything – some compli…
Red-hot Juventus have now closed the gap behind leaders Napoli to mere two points and no doubts they are in a good position to extend the impressive run against AS Roma. The Giallorossi have recorded just one win in last eight matches on all fronts, meaning new coach Luciano Spalletti will have to produce some magic if his side are to avoid defeat in Turin.
Juventus
Juventus experienced plenty of problems in the opening exchanges as the squad rebuilding process lasted longer than expected, but the team started raising their form from September and are now back to their best. The Bianconeri closed the serious gap behind their title rivals in Italian Serie A in no time, while progressing from a very difficult Champions League group, although they were quite unfortuate to be pitt…
Lucas Paqueta got West Ham’s Europa League campaign back on track with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Olympiacos.
The Brazil midfielder crashed in a second-half volley to keep the Hammers on top of Group A and to the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages.
It was also a measure of revenge for West Ham, who had accused the Greek team of celebrating their 2-1 win in the reverse fixture two weeks ago as if they had won the Europa League itself.
Three points courtesy of Paquetá
— West Ham United (@WestHam)
Olympiacos fans created a hostile atmosphere that night in Athens, unfurling a huge banner across one stand reading ‘Tonight you dine in hell’.
The London Stadium, by contrast, could never be referred to as a cauldron of no…