Alejandro Bernal

Alejandro Bernal does not usually avoid responsibilities. He knows perfectly well what the elimination in the Copa Águila entails and the pressure it put on. It is not enough to have a good campaign in the Liga II-2015. Now, Atlético Nacional minimum must secure a spot in the final in order to aspire to return to an international tournament and think about a title.

"We are obligated to reach the final of the Liga and we are preparing for that," said the verdolaga midfielder without hesitation after recognizing that they did not achieve the first objective they set with Reinaldo Rueda and his collaborators.

'Alejo' does not underestimate this championship, of which he is a two-time champion. "It is a significant loss. The Copa is very important to all of us," he said, recalling that they lost the first opportunity to win a spot in the Copa Suramericana. However, he assured that they are ready to recover: "the elimination was painful, but we mourned it and moved on."

And to assimilate the loss implies having a clear outlook and visualizing the next goal. "Our objective is to be champions of the Liga. We started well in this tournament and we must continue on that winning path," the midfielder pointed out.

After the tough experience that Atlético Junior made them go through, Bernal has his sights set on overcoming Envigado in the fourth round of the Finalización, on Sunday (5:00 p.m.), at the Atanasio Girardot. He is focused on defeating the opponent convincingly and reminding everyone of Atlético Nacional's status.

"We have to behave like the experienced team we are. Even though Envigado has a lot of enthusiasm and is a good team full of youth, we must make our home ground respected," declared Bernal.

For Bernal, this Nacional team does not intend to struggle against so-called small teams again. They come from a 2-0 away victory against Atlético Huila and want to remain undefeated in the Liga.

"We must have the maturity that has characterized us. We must make Envigado feel that they are in our stadium. The things that happened to us last semester cannot happen again," expressed the midfielder, who made it clear that "the objective in the short term is to be in first place."

Regarding the injury suffered by Jonathan Copete (double fracture in the jaw), Bernal showed that he also did not consider Iván Vélez's action on his teammate to be fair. "We are a very honest team... if he protected himself a little better, he wouldn't have been hurt," he pointed out.

And he added: "It will be an important loss. Jonathan is an influential player. He has contributed a lot with goals. But there are others who can do it just as well or even better."