In-form Maniche happy in Madrid

Portuguese midfielder back in tune with coach

After scoring his first goal of the season in Atletico Madrid’s Champions League victory over PSV, Maniche says that he is pleased to have successfully overcome his problems at the club.

The Portuguese midfielder spent much of the close season looking for a new club, having fallen foul of manager Javier Aguirre last season and spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Italian champions Internazionale.

However, the Atletico board failed to offload the former Porto man, and Maniche was re-introduced to the squad ahead of the start of the season. Good early season form in the league was followed by Maniche opening his goal account for the season on Tuesday as Los Rojiblancos thrashed PSV at the Phillips Stadium.

“I’m happy to have changed my situation in the team,” he said after the match. “I feel very good, since I’m in a great setup. We have to continue along the same lines in La Liga and in the Copa del Rey. I did the same work as all of my teammates. Honestly, I think that we all played a good game. I’m just another player in the squad.

“My goal continues to be to work very hard to stay at Atletico. I want to show the manager that I’ll be there whenever he wants to count on me and the best way to do that is on the pitch. Anyway, we have to keep our feet on the ground, enjoy this moment, as it’s a good result, but we have a long way to go.”

Liverpool’s victory over Marseille in the group’s other match means that Atletico already have a three-point advantage in the race for qualification. Next up in the competition for Maniche’s side is a home clash with Marseille at the Vicente Calderon next month.