Feyenoord coach Arne Slot is confident he and Atletico Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone will keep their cool on Wednesday night.
The pair entered a shoving match at the end of a FRIENDLY two years ago over a miscommunication, as Slot explained today.
Ahead of their Champions League trip to Madrid, Slot recalled: "At that moment, at the end of the match, I turned to Simeone to tell him how passionate he was even in a friendly match.
"Then, he misinterpreted the smile I had at that moment and pushed me. This says a lot about him, how easily he gets irritated and frustrated. It doesn't matter who he is in front of, he is like that, I don't think he has anything against me."
That match had a first brawl in which Yann Carrasco was sent off in the first half for a harsh tackle. Simeone had to come out to calm down his player and reproach him for that action. Finally, the match ended with a victory for Feyenoord with a goal in the 92nd minute.
Now, Slot returns and says he is an admirer of what Simeone is achieving with the Madrid team: I have respect for Atltico because of how he has played for years and everything he has achieved."