Diego Simeone has highlighted humility and a do-or-die spirit as key reasons as to why Atletico Madrid can compete with the biggest clubs in the world.
Atletico's economically-assembled squad pipped Barcelona and Real Madrid to the La Liga title and reached the final of the Champions League last season.
They lost key players such such as Thibaut Courtois, Diego Costa and Filipe Luis last summer, but are still strong enough to take a 2-0 lead to the Bernabeu ahead of the second leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 tie with their capital rivals on Thursday.
Real star Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned Ballon D'Or winner for the third time in his career this week, and Simeone has suggested that the secret to Atletico's success is admitting that they are not as good as their rivals.
"We know that we are weaker than our rivals in terms of players," he told TV station Canal +. "But we know who we are and that is our virtue.
"The day we think we are better than them, we will concede four goals. We have to realise that Real don't stop and if they can score six goals against you they will. You cannot get annoyed when you have conceded the fourth goal, get annoyed when the score is goalless.
"I know my players play [knockout games] well, because it's a do-or-die situation and my players are not afraid of death. My players are very competitive."
Atletico are currently four points behind leaders Real in the La Liga table.
