After finishing European Championship Group I qualification with a perfect record, Spain Coach Vicente Del Bosque reflected on the 3-1 win over Scotland and his team’s chances next summer in Poland-Ukraine 2012.
La Roja won 3-1 on Tuesday night thanks to a double-strike from David Silva followed by David Villa’s 50th international goal that saw him become the country’s all-time leading goalscorer.
– Who do you think will be Spain’s biggest rival?
We have very strong rivals – England, Germany, Italy, France. There are very strong opponents in Europe and it will not be easy. Winning a competition like this will be very difficult.
– Jordi Alba had a big game
He has performed as expected of him. He played well, was attentive and sat well in defence and attack and provided an assist to score. A happy day for him and for all.
– What do you make of the game? What does it mean to qualify for the Euros?
There were two distinctly different parts, a more orthodox football and in the second half a more open, crazier game with more opportunities for the Scots.
– You have many options in midfield ahead of the Euros
We have many alternatives – on the one hand it is good for everyone because the seasons are very long and hopefully all will arrive in the best condition for the Euros.
– What do you think about the Scotland team? Do you see them at the World Cup of Brazil 2014?
Since we played them a year ago to today they have become a more stable team and I really enjoyed the other day in Liechtenstein. They could have been weighed by the 3-0 score-line or the heat but did not surrender.
– It has been a long time since la Seleccion last played in Alicante. What does it mean to be here?
The truth is we are happy to go anywhere in Spain. There is a climate of affection and support and Alicante is no different. The pitch was fine and everything was favourable for la Seleccion.
– Between the first and second goal there was a bit of relaxation
They were ordered – we searched the channels for penetration but with Villa and Pedroo [Rodriguez] we could not. In any case I think it was a match dominated by two parts as I said before.
– What happened with Xavi Hernandez?
He had some discomfort and preferred to opt for the change.
The original Spanish and full version of this interview conducted by Fabi
