Translated material
SPAIN IS NOT ENOUGH GOLD
SPORTS
Now Spanish football clubs are in full view of the clubs. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup last Wednesday. Villarreal have made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history. Barça will play in the final of this very...
Now Spanish football clubs are in full view of the clubs. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup last Wednesday. Villarreal have made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history. Barça will play in the final of this most prestigious tournament in Europe. But the Spanish national team, after winning the European Championship-64 and the Olympics-92, did not achieve anything serious. But, despite this, we always rank her among the favorites and consider it an honor to play a friendly match with the Spaniards. For them, we are just a rehearsal before the World Cup in Germany, which our team, as you know, did not qualify for.
Now we have two years of qualifying and a new coach to prepare for the next European Championship. Luis Aragones had the same amount of time when he took over the Spanish national team two years ago after failing at the European Championships in Portugal. What has changed, we will see in less than a month.
About this and many other things, the head coach of the Spanish national football team, Luis ARAGONES, in an exclusive interview with the correspondent of Novaya Gazeta.
- Senor Aragones, what do you think are the reasons for the failures of the Spanish national team lately?
- Spain has always had very strong clubs. Therefore, it cannot be said that the problem of the superiority of the club game over the national team has appeared only now. Naturally, this prevents football from progressing, but no more than before. Now the Spanish Federation is trying to somehow fight against this. As a head coach, I have been given more opportunities to prepare the team: to plan friendly matches and the training camp. In this case, the main thing is mutual understanding and the desire to achieve one goal.
- How did you choose opponents for the Spanish national team for friendly matches?
- It was interesting for me to play with teams that are more or less similar to our opponents at the first stage of the World Cup. We decided that Russia is most similar to Ukraine, and Egypt - to Tunisia.
— What can you say about our team?
— This is a very competitive and balanced team. You have players with good technique and those who are distinguished by their fighting spirit. As for the names, I would single out Izmailov and Loskov in the center of the field and two Dynamo forwards Arshavin and Kerzhakov (after the mass “purchase” of Portuguese football players by Alexei Fedorychev, Dynamo became the most popular Russian club on the Iberian Peninsula. So Luis Aragones decided the famous pair of Zenit forwards, familiar to the Spaniards from the UEFA Cup, to be recorded in the ranks of the blue and white. - O.B.).
- And what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Spanish national team?
- When I joined the national team two years ago, my goal was to create a team that would have its own style of play. I think that now our main advantage is technology. This is our trump card, and we must use it to the fullest. But the physical condition of the players leaves much to be desired. This is, one might say, our Achilles' heel.
Less than a month is left before the start of the World Cup in Germany. Are there any problems with the choice of players?
- My main task is to be honest with the players, with myself and, of course, with Spain. Of course, like any normal person, I can be wrong. But I will try to do the best for my country.
- On the one hand, there are a lot of young talented players in Spain now. Such as Fabregas, Iniesta, Torres. On the other hand, players with extensive experience in the international arena: Raul, Puyol... Will you bet on youth or experience at this World Cup?
- The main thing is to find a golden mean. Physical age doesn't always match experience. For example, Fabregas at the age of 19 already has behind him a decent number of matches in the English Premier League and European championships. And no one will say that this guy has little experience. The older he gets, the more he will show on the field. In my opinion, the ideal age for a footballer starts at 28. First of all, because of his physical condition and ability to fight on the field to the end.
- Now the eyes of many European clubs are focused on Fernando Torres. As the player himself says, you have always supported and helped him. Does it matter here that you yourself played for Atlético Madrid and were the coach of the red-and-whites several times? What do you expect from this young footballer at the World Cup?
- Yes, indeed, Fernando now wants to get the most famous clubs in Europe. And this is absolutely logical. Any professional who is involved in the education and training of football players, seeing the opportunities that this young striker has, would try to do everything so that he achieves maximum results. I'm no exception here. I have always helped Fernando. And it has nothing to do with my past.
- What is your real goal for this World Cup?
- I want to win it. And besides, I'm sure that Spain will play a significant role in the distribution of championship awards. When a team enters the field with the feeling that they will succeed, then they win.
- Spain is always ranked among the favorites. Is this an advantage or disadvantage?
- Spain is not a favorite, but one of the five teams that have managed to qualify for the last eight World Cups, having passed all the stages. This once again shows the good level of the team. True, at the championships of both the world and Europe, we have recently lacked team spirit. Hence all the errors.
- Then who can you call favorites at this world championship?
- As usual, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina. These teams have a rich history. Maybe Brazil is a few centimeters taller than the rest. But, without a doubt, all these teams can initially be ranked among the favorites. Although during the championship everything can change ...
- In case of leaving the group, Spain's rivals could be France in 1/8 and just Brazil in 1/4. Doesn't this reduce your hopes of winning the championship?
- Until the ball appeared on the field and the referee blew the whistle, all these are hypotheses. Sometimes absolutely unexpected and inexplicable things happen during the championship. So let's not guess. First you need to leave the group.
By the way, about the band...
- Everyone says that we got easy opponents. But I don't think so. It only seems so at first glance. Yes, maybe among the players of these teams (Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia. - O.B.) there are not so many world-famous football players. But when you see them on the field, you understand that you don’t have to relax and indulge yourself with illusions about leaving the group without a fight.
I think that our main rival is Ukraine. They play very strong football. It is possible that Ukrainian footballers have a low level of technical training, but they have good “physics” and play at a second pace. In addition, they have one of the best strikers in the world - Andriy Shevchenko. And the head coach, Oleg Blokhin, was a very famous football player in the past. He will be able to properly set up the team. We, in turn, preparing for the meeting with the Ukrainian national team, are carefully studying the work of Blokhin not only in the national team, but also in Greek clubs.
- Recently, the head coach has changed in the Russian national team. Now this post is occupied by the Dutchman Guus Hiddink. In this regard, has something changed in your preparation for the match Spain - Russia?
- Hiddink is a coach with extensive experience both in clubs and in national teams. But, despite such striking changes in your team, we continue to prepare according to the same program.
- And if you were offered to coach the Russian national team, would you agree?
- Why not?! I like football more than anything in the world, first I was a player, now I am a coach. If such a proposal had followed, I should have calmly thought it over for myself, and then talked to my family. The road is not close to you. And the country is completely different ...