Soccer-Simeone lauds 'special' Arda after Juventus win

MADRID, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone singled out Arda Turan as a "special" player after the Turkey midfielder fired the La Liga side to a 1-0 win at home to Juventus in Champions League Group A on Wednesday. A tight contest at the Calderon between the Spanish and Italian champions was settled when Arda poked the ball into the net in the 75th minute to put Atletico's European campaign back on track after they lost their opening game 3-2 at Olympiakos Piraeus two weeks ago. The heavily-bearded 27-year-old continued his penchant for scoring important goals having struck the winner in this month's 2-1 La Liga win at Real Madrid. "Arda is a special player," Simeone told a news conference, adding that they had practiced the move that led to the goal in training. Fullback Juanfran crossed from the right wing and although forward Mario Mandzukic was unable to get to the ball Arda was in the right place to score. "Juanfran did very well with the cross," Simeone said. "Mandzukic missed but Arda arrived as we had practiced." Arda joined Atletico from Galatasaray in his native Istanbul in 2011 and has become a huge favourite among Atletico fans and an important part of their success in recent seasons. A stocky player with superb ball skills, he has the creative spark that can open up stubborn defences and, as he again proved on Wednesday, the ability to score key goals. "I think when he plays in a free role he loses something but when he plays in a fixed position he is extraordinary because he has tactical talent," Simeone said. "He creates the perfect amount of time and space for the fullbacks to attack." Atletico's victory puts them back on track to qualify from a group that also includes Malmo. The Swedish side won 2-0 at home to Olympiakos to leave all four teams on three points from two matches. VERY ANGRY Juventus were missing their Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo, who has a hip injury, and coach Massimiliano Allegri said the team had been let down by a lack of quality in their passing. "I think our approach was good," Allegri, who is in his first season in charge after taking over from Antonio Conte, told a news conference. "We tried to win the game and just missed some important passes when we had good chances to counterattack. "We are very angry for this defeat but the group is still very open and not much has changed for us." Atletico's next Champions League outing is at home to Malmo on Oct. 22, when Juventus play at Olympiakos. (Writing by Iain Rogers, editing by Justin Palmer)