Guardiola; Simeone React To Champions League Draw

The pairings for the semi finals of this year's champions league has been done and bundesliga giants, Bayern München will face Atlético Madrid, who defeated Barcelona in their quarter final clash last Wednesday. 

The former Barcelona coach, who is due to take over at the Ethiad stadium this summer has admitted

that the coach Diego Simeone's men are a strong team, capable of beating any team.

Guardiola will be hoping he won the champions league title for the Bavarians before he bids the Alianz Arena goodbye, but will have his Spanish opposition to contend with, haven't lost to the Catalans at this stage in the last two years.

"We have seen what kind of a special side Atlético are – they have a strong defence and strong attack. They have a great heart. For me, Barcelona remain the best team in Europe, regardless of whether they are in the semi-finals or not, but in recent years Atlético twice managed to beat them. That shows how difficult this will be.

"Atlético know exactly what they have to do in defence. If they do not play to their best on a certain day, they are still solid. They have conceded so few goals in recent years because their structure is so good."

"They press aggressively and if they do not win the ball back, they retreat deep and play very compact. The atmosphere in the Vicente Calderón is the best in Europe."

Also, Bayern midfielder, Xabi Alonso, agreed with his outgoing coach that Atletico are a formidable side with a bee of fans who will support them until the final whistle is blown.

Alonso is not a stranger to Diego Simeone, after spending some years at the Santiago Bernabau before moving to Germany under Guardiola.

"We are coming up against strong opponents. Under Diego Simeone, Atlético have been very strong and well prepared for every match. But we know them well already and will analyse them further. Atlético concede few goals and they have a fantastic atmosphere at home. But if we play well, the atmosphere shouldn't be a problem. We need to focus on what happens on the pitch."

@ChampionsLeague both games are hard to call, but I think it will be a @realmadrid v @FCBayern final as they have more experience #UCLDraw

— Lothar Matthäus (@LMatthaeus10) April 15, 2016

On the othher side, Atlético sporting director, José Luis Caminero, believes their clash against the German champions will be tough, but insists they will not be swallowed up by their successes in recent time.

"We're up against one of the most successful clubs in Europe, who are used to being in the semi-finals. It will be a difficult tie, but we'll compete the best we can, as we always do."

"It's a privilege to be able to play a semi-final against a team of Bayern's quality. Atlético have demonstrated they have the ability to come through games like these. I hope we can maintain that now. They are two very open semi-finals and are good for Spanish football, because I hope we can have another all-Spanish final [like 2014]." said Clemente Villaverde, Atlético director

Champions league semi final pairing

Manchester City vs Real Madrid

FC Bayern Munich vs Atletico Madrid