Atletico Madrid assistant coach German 'Mono' Burgos has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season and says he wants to bow out by winning the Champions League.
The former Atletico and Argentina goalkeeper has been an emblematic figure alongside Diego Simeone at the Madrid side since 2011, but now wants to become a coach in his own right.
"At the end of this season, I will start my steps as a head coach," he said in a video posted by the club on social media. "With over 10 years top-flight experience, I believe I have the ability to steer the destiny of a team [by myself]."
On Simeone, he said: "He's a friend. We have known each other for so long, we understand each other with signs, with glances, with headbutts... I have had lunch more times with 'el Cholo' than with my family.
"[We have been together] in the Argentine national team, the years at Atletico... it's a long time. It's wonderful."
Looking back on his most memorable moments, he said: "The celebrations with the fans at Neptuno, those rivers of Rojiblancos who came down, the hug with 'el Cholo' when we won LaLiga, the last one we had at Anfield..."
That win against Liverpool saw Atleti advance to the last eight of a competition they have still never won, having missed out to Real Madrid in the 2014 and 2016 finals.
"The dream of everyone is to win the Champions League," he said. "I'm a dream chaser. Until the last minute I'm here, I want to go for my objectives. I want to leave Atleti as a champion."
Former Arsenal and Argentina defender Nelson Vivas is expected to succeed Burgos as Simeone's number two next season.
