Day 16, World Cup 2010: “Fernando has got his tea waiting”

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

The people of Potch have died and gone to heaven. Spain have qualified, the media pack are going to stay and spend money for at least a few more days, NW University continues to receive a worldwide profile and the downtown mall is a footballing Hollywood.

There is a traffic jam of off-duty Spain stars in eateries. In one, Del Bosque is having dinner with his wife Trini and their children Vicente, Gemma and Álvaro, when they see Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, Raúl Albiol, Juan Mata and Sergio Ramos walking through the door. The Del Bosque kids insist on getting their pictures taken with the stars. Dad is just dad, but Xabi … well, he’s Xabi.

Again, only Casillas refuses to take the evening off. The night holds particular significance for three peripheral men, two of whom will have a pivotal influence on La Roja’s progress in the tournament.

Training is open and during the practice match there is a slight tangle of bodies. Fernando Llorente leans into Albiol in order to get his telescopic leg into a challenge. The defender falls in the least dramatic manner imaginable, but one of his studs has caught in the turf and Albiol is in trouble. He is stretchered from the pitch and taken to hospital. Llorente, the newbie, looks shell-shocked.

The match finishes and this time there is an improvised mixed zone round the back of the changing rooms. The players must pass the media on the way to their meal and the bedrooms, but at a distance of about 15 metres. The Spanish reporters are desperate to get Llorente’s side of the story, but when he eventually emerges from the dressing room he has a bodyguard.

Pepe Reina has one of his arms around Llorente’s shoulder and is walking him along. Reporters petition the striker for an interview, but the response comes from the Liverpool goalkeeper: “Fernando has got his tea waiting lads and then I’m going to beat him at table tennis – can’t stop, sorry.”

It is another example of the tournament mentality central to this team’s success.

Read Next Day 15, World Cup 2010: Chile 1 Spain 2 Read Next Day 17, World Cup 2010: Torres the pop star