Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has dismissed claims that Chelsea loanee goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could be affected by the controversy surrounding the Belgian facing his parent club, citing there to be no difference between his mindset and those of his Atletico colleagues.

After there had been speculation over whether Courtois would face Jose Mourinho's side, Simeone stated: "His state of mind is the same as that of all his team-mates. They are all filled with enthusiasm. They know the importance of this match not just for them, but for the club. [At this stage] words do not count, they are just used to make headlines."

There had been debate over whether Courtois would feature in the Champions League semi-final first-leg, with UEFA laws at first believed to be the stumbling block before a reported clause in the Belgian's contract, which UEFA labelled "null" and "unenforcable" while Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay confirmed Courtois's eligibility to play.

Of the remaining teams in the last four of Europe's elite competition, Simeone conceded that Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich may have the better individual players, but accuentating his side's passion and enthusiasm, saying "nobody has more passion or enthusiasm than us."

It epitomizes Simeone's comparisons with Jose Mourinho's Champions League-winning FC Porto side, whose engine was spirit rather than individual quality. The footballing philosophy between the two are similar also, as the Atletico boss pointed out.

"We are not the same teams but we have similar characteristics. We are both the least scored against teams in our respective leagues, we both have good defences and we both play a direct attacking game. We are also both good at set pieces. These characteristics have led to us both fighting for titles. We just focus on our team but we respect our rivals."

Regarding the speculation linking him to Manchester United, with David Moyes's departure reportedly imminent, the Argentine coach refused to be drawn in. "With all due respect, tomorrow's game put me far from anything else."