Baena on Julián Alvarez: 'His manner upset us, but he apologised'

Baena covered everything on SER, and he was also very clear about Julián Alvarez. He said the dressing room was bothered by the way Julián behaved in the summer, but that he has since apologised and said sorry, that this reflects well on him, and that the team need him at his best this season because he is one of the best in the world.

Álex Baena took centre stage on 'El Larguero' last night. Manu Carreño sat down with the Atlético de Madrid player at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas, the Spanish national team's base, a day after the side's defeat to FC Barcelona at the Metropolitano. Baena also discussed how he was feeling ahead of the matches against the Czech Republic and England during this international break.

"On top of that, I didn't sleep at all last night because I left angry. I was going over it again and again in my head after losing to Barça. I think we failed to match their intensity for the whole game," says Baena, who adds: "I left fuming because we deserved to win, we had far clearer chances than they did, and we missed the opportunity to go top, which we shouldn't have let slip."

Baena explains that his first season at Atleti was a bad one: "Last year was tough, it was a very bad season for me individually. This time I'm able to enjoy the day-to-day, the training sessions. I'm at my happiest because I take things differently. A bad training session used to ruin my whole day because I'm super competitive. After a bad session I'd shut myself away at home, and now it's different. I try to enjoy the day-to-day, my free time and so on."

His confidence has soared: "I'm a player who, when he doesn't have confidence in himself, it really shows. In the end, the World Cup changed everything for me in terms of continuity; it did me good physically and mentally. On top of that, being a world champion and feeling important helps. I'm a world champion, and a lot of the time I'm still not aware of it; it won't sink in until some time has passed. One bad game in Spain and it seems like we've lost the World Cup. I think the match against France was an exhibition of football."

On Julián Alvarez: "He had a bad night after the game, but day to day he's committed, joking around. People demand a lot of him because he's Julián, one of the best strikers in the world. Any player can have a bad day. Cristiano Ronaldo had them, Messi had them, that's football. He has apologised to the fans, and apologising publicly reflects very well on him. We also understand that the Atleti fans are angry about the way he did it, but Julián is working very hard and working to get back to his level. We really need him to achieve things, and little by little he'll win the fans' affection."

On how the 'Julián affair' affected the dressing room, Baena said: "It feels a bit strange when a teammate says publicly that he wants to leave. It didn't go down very well with us. I understand a player having doubts if Barça or Real Madrid come for you, but I think the manner was what bothered us most. We would have backed him whatever he did. Personally, I didn't say anything to him. He's a very intelligent lad and he knew what he'd done and how it might have affected us. He apologised to all of us and that reflects incredibly well on him."

And on Atlético de Madrid's reported interest in signing Zubimendi, Baena said: "I'd love Zubimendi to come. He's the second-best defensive midfielder in the world. He'd be a great addition to the team and to the dressing room."