Diego Simeone acknowledged a successful first-year campaign as the skipper of Atletico Madrid as his squad looks to go out on a high note in its final game of the year versus Celta Vigo. 

After taking over the club's reigns nearly a year ago, Simeone has brought the Atletico football club from a bottom of the barrel caliber team to one of relevance.  The Argentinian leader has been an integral part in its newfound success in both the Europa League and European Super Cup. 

Astonishingly enough, Atletico is guaranteed to finish ahead of Real Madrid in the La Liga table no matter what the outcome is in the fixtures final round this weekend.

"We are halfway through the championship and we want to continue in the same line.  I feel an enormous happiness because when we arrived the situation wasn't easy and the players have made a great effort to be able to be competitive," Simeone told 7M Sports.

"The most difficult thing is to maintain the stability.  When the club makes such a huge effort, the players have to have the capacity to maintain the stability necessary to continue improving.  Our objective is to be competitive in everything," the coach added.

The hosts of the game will be without the services of left-back Filipe Luis after he suffered a thigh injury in the team's 4-1 loss to the powerhouse Barcelona squad.  Cata Diaz will more than likely get the start in place of the Brazilian.

The situation isn't looking as bright for the Celta club, who are a mere two points shy of the relegation zone after a 1-0 loss on Monday to Real Betis.  They will aim to pull out an upset.

CLICK HERE to watch Atletico Madrid face off against Celta Vigo via free live stream.  Coverage of the La Liga matchup will begin at 10 p.m. CET on Friday, Dec. 21.

Tags: La Liga International Soccer