Graham's Blog

Running right alongside Brazil 2014, this is my day-by-day story of how Spain won the last World Cup. You can catch up on previous posts.

These stories are from Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, by Graham Hunter

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Del Bosque speaks to all the Spanish media who have travelled to South Africa without having bought broadcast rights for the games or without a guarantee that they will get match accreditations to report from the stadia. It is typical of the Spain manager to be just as accommodating after yesterday’s victory over Honduras, which would have bought him private time, as after a defeat which required deflecting. Perhaps more stinging words from Luis Aragonés helped propel him forward. El Sabio de Hortaleza comments, post-match, for Al Jazeera: “Performing like this they won’t get far. I didn’t like it much. Xavi is being played out of position.”

“We can’t live on past achievements,” is the nearest Del Bosque gets to a retort. In private, he is totally sanguine about what his predecessor is saying, as are his players.

Post-tournament, one or two senior players who are alumni of the class of Euro 2008 will reveal that they take time to think about what Aragonés is saying: not promoting his words over those of Del Bosque, choosing, instead, to not be stung by his criticisms but to examine them. Xavi and Torres believe that it is healthy to read between the lines rather than take Aragonés’ criticism solely at face value. They reckon their old maestro is simply incentivising them from afar. Whether they are right or wrong, it is a positive way to treat the experience.

Pensamientos positivos, as a certain grumpy old man used to growl.

Meanwhile, Busquets receives the most emphatic public support from his coach. Del Bosque tells his impromptu audience: “If I came back as a footballer once again I’d prefer to be [like] Sergio Busquets. He does everything, he’s continually at the disposition of the rest of the team; he’s a generous player, he just gives everything defensively and what’s more he’s usually the first to re-start our forward movements. When Busi is on form, the quality of our football is more fluid, quicker.”

 

Running right alongside Brazil 2014, this is my day-by-day story of how Spain won the last World Cup. You can catch up on previous posts.

These stories are from Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, by Graham Hunter

—

Spain v Honduras

Uno y dos y tres … ganar y ganar y ganar!

A year after this is all over, Iker Casillas will confess: “I had never in my life felt so nervous as against Honduras.”

Before kick-off, Del Bosque’s manner doesn’t betray nerves. He doesn’t reach for hyperbole, nor does he appear tense. As he talks to the players in the dressing room they don’t even cluster around him; one or two are wandering about; in nervous tension, a ball is bounced. Del Bosque believes that the good work is done in the pre match-day team briefing. The dressing room, largely, is for getting changed in. Hence the 69-second team talk in Durban. Again, he’ll underline key points but it will be brief, specific and clear.

“Come on … what we need today is more mobility please. The guy who has the ball needs to have passing options not only beside him but behind him and ahead of him too. That’s not just in midfield but defence and attack as well.

“Nobody needs to have the idea in his head that we are here to thrash this lot and put a huge number of goals past them. What we have to do is win. Nothing else. We must win.

“For that reason it’s important to be aware of our defensive duties because we’ll have to defend, too.

“I’m not asking more or less than you gave the other day. This time we’ll finish our chances, but that’s all I ask.”

Xabi Alonso appeals for: “Corazones y cabezas por favor!” Hearts and minds, please!

David Villa’s opening goal is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Piqué’s cross-field pass is chested down by El Guaje on the extreme left side of the pitch. He starts off with that hunched-back, scuttling run of his. When faced by Sergio Mendoza and Amado Guevara, Villa takes on the two big defenders like gates on a giant slalom, cutting across Mendoza then changing angles to move between the two men in a blur of red.

Villa has made 20 yards, but he is still isolated at the keeper’s right-hand edge of the penalty box. Osman Chávez makes a move towards the onrushing striker but then stops, allowing Villa to swerve to his right and then throw himself full length as the studs of his left boot give way underneath him. He levers his right leg into a sublime contact which curves the ball into the keeper’s top right-hand corner, via a tiny deviation off the tip of one glove.

For the second goal, Villa’s movement as the ball is sprayed out wide to Navas on the right is exemplary. As everyone follows play towards the Honduras goal, Villa slams on the brakes. It is like a giant has lifted the entire pitch at the other end and tipped everyone towards the far goal, but Villa has gravity boots and he is anchored to the place he wants to be. Navas sees him, cuts the ball back diagonally and Villa’s shot takes a flutter off Chávez’s knee on its way in.

Emilio Izaguirre commits a penalty foul on Navas – Villa misses the spotkick, an error his dad will phone to tease him about later. There is also personal significance to the miss. Villa’s two goals put him on five in World Cup finals, equal with Raúl, Hierro, Fernando Morientes and Emilio Butragueno as La Roja’s all-time top scorer in the tournament and within five of equalling Raúl’s all-time Spain record.

Spain 2 Honduras 0

Spain: Casillas, Ramos (Arbeloa 77), Puyol, Piqué, Capdevila; Alonso, Busquets; Navas, Xavi (Fabregas 66), Villa; Torres (Mata 70)

Goals: Villa 17, 51

Honduras: Valladares; Mendoza, Chávez, Figueroa, Izaguirre; W Palacios, Guevara; Turcios (Nunez 63), Martínez, Espinoza (Welcome 46); Suazo (J Palacios 84)

Running right alongside Brazil 2014, this is my day-by-day story of how Spain won the last World Cup. You can catch up on previous posts.

These stories are from Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, by Graham Hunter

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The day is not without amusement as Raúl Albiol tells me that he would like to find, and deal with, whoever wrote a front-page article suggesting Iker Casillas let the goal in against Switzerland because his girlfriend, Sara Carbonero, and her cameraman had a pitch-side position to the right of his goalmouth in the first half. The goal came after half-time. And it was The Times.

Raúl Albiol: “It is total crap that people are trying to drag Iker Casillas into some stupid row about his girlfriend being a TV reporter here at the World Cup. He is a great professional, our captain and one of the best keepers in the world. It’s hard to put up with hearing the nonsense being spoken about him.”

Far away from the microphones and the spotlights, something much more important is happening. After his injury in the first game, Iniesta would admit he “felt all the ghosts of his dreadful year re-surfacing”. The Spain physio Raúl Martínez has been trying to work on the midfielder’s psychology. The two have shared long conversations and Martínez has reinforced only positive sentiments.

For whatever reason the cogs suddenly fit together and Iniesta tells the physio that despite having to sit the Honduras match out, his mind is at rest. Before the second Group H match he goes to sleep without fear that his body is going to let him down. Instead he is convinced that if his team-mates do their job and defeat Honduras, he is now through the worst and ready to influence matters.

By the middle of the day, the bus is on the road. They lay their heads down in five-star luxury in Sandton, but they will play in the Rainbow Nation’s rugby stadium: Ellis Park.

Running right alongside Brazil 2014, this is my day-by-day story of how Spain won the last World Cup. You can catch up on previous posts.

These stories are from Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, by Graham Hunter

—

If at Euro 2008 the doctor who controlled their diet, Jordi Candel, was colloquially known to his players as Doctor Hambre (Dr Hunger), things under Dr Celada have changed a trifle now. Well, not a trifle, perhaps a low-fat Greek yoghurt sprinkled with apricot shavings.

Javier Arbizú has been Spain’s chef for over two decade and while the contents of the menus remain strictly controlled, there are now wider choices and some of the salad options are unlimited.

In Austria, Pepe Reina, Arbeloa, Rubén de la Red and Sergio Ramos used to sneak down to pinch stuff from the hotel kitchen. Nevertheless, every single Spain player loses a few kilos during a tournament like this, no matter how hard they try.

This is how they roll at mealtimes:

Training days

Breakfast (8:30-9:00)

freshly-squeezed orange juice and coffee with skimmed milk
egg white omelette with dried fruit/nuts
buffet of yogurt, toast, turkey cold-cuts, low-fat cheese, plus four choices of fresh fruit

Lunch (13:30-14:00)

asparagus/tuna salad
Choice of pasta, rice, lasagne, vegetable cream soup, fish, beef or chicken
fruit
water, one bottle of red wine split between every four players

Snack (17:30)

fruit salad

Dinner (21:30-22:00)

choice of salads
pasta, rice, lasagne, creamed vegetable soup, fish and chicken (no red meat is allowed at dinner)
fruit
water, one bottle of wine divided between four

Match days

Breakfast (8:30-9:00)
as training days

Lunch (11:30-12:00 on June 16, 13:30-14:00 on June 21 and June 25)
tuna/asparagus salads
Choice of spaghetti, creamed vegetable soup, potato puree or chicken breast
fruit
water, one bottle of wine split between four players

Dinner (21:30-22:00 on June 16, 23:30-00:00 on June 21 and June 25)
 Choice of jamón serrano, pork chop, Spanish tortilla, sirloin steak and four types of pastas with sauce
fruit
water and a bottle of wine between every four players

When red meat is served, it is in very small portions (no more than 100g), there is no sugar involved anywhere, no onions in the dishes on match day, always skimmed milk and players are always encouraged to opt for fish ahead of meat. Pepe Reina needs persuading.

Chef Arbizú began his visits to South African fish markets a year ahead of the tournament and has found it to be the most abundant, tasty fish assortment he has seen in his professional life.

Running right alongside Brazil 2014, this is my day-by-day story of how Spain won the last World Cup. You can catch up on previous posts.

These stories are from Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, by Graham Hunter

—

A few players, Reina, Busquets, Alonso and Piqué amongst them, see the day a tad earlier than the rest of us. They have permission to be up early and glued to satellite television at 3am South African time in order to catch the decisive Game Seven of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. The series is tied 3-3 and the Spaniards are yelling for the Lakers given that, behind Kobe Bryant, Spanish world champion Pau Gasol is the team’s second most valuable player. The Lakers win and the decision to brave the freezing dawn is a good one. By mid-morning there is a spring in everyone’s step as the starting XI are reintegrated into training.

The daily press conferences are held in a lecture hall behind the gym. Today, we talk to Gerard Piqué and Xabi Alonso, but the tone has been set by the previous evening’s meeting between senior players and management.

Gerard Piqué: “While I understand our fans’ disappointment it was ridiculous that the Switzerland result brought criticism of our entire style of play. We played well but just didn’t score. Believe me, my chance looked easier than it was, but if that had gone in we would have then hit another two or three – guaranteed.

“We’ve won the European Championship, we were unbeaten for 35 games, we won every qualifying match and arrived here as many people’s favourites. You’d have to be pretty stupid to deduce that it’s our playing style that needs changing.

“As for the nonsense about doble pivote and Sergio Busquets, I didn’t hear anyone saying that when we beat Argentina and we played exactly the same way that day. Of course, then, everyone was praising Busi to the hilt. It’s just a shame that people are always looking for someone to blame.”

Xabi Alonso: “Anyone who starts having a go at the partnership between me and Busquets now, who didn’t before, is just being opportunistic because of the result.”