By Sebastian Fest Jun 22, 2009, 15:44 GMT
Bloemfontein, South Africa - A plain, sincere man when it comes to analyzing his own role in the most successful period in Spain's history, coach Vicente Del Bosque praised predecessor Luis Aragones and stressed that there will be tougher times ahead.
During a half-an-hour interview with the German Press Agency dpa and another international agency at the hotel that was hosting Spain in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Del Bosque again made it clear that he has nothing to celebrate yet.
And yet Spain broke a world record with 15 consecutive wins by beating South Africa 2-0, and they moved on to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they are now set to play the United States. They have further accumulated a 35-game streak without a defeat, a record they share with Brazil.
'I am aware of the fact that we are at a time of bonanza, but that not everything is going to be like this. There will be difficult times ahead,' he warned.
For now, however, his team is impressing football lovers around the world.
There is one element that all Spain players agree on when they talk about Del Bosque: 'He's a coach who thinks like a football player.'
Del Bosque smiles.
'I think every coach has their style, their personality. There are different profiles, there are some who are nicer, not so nice, impulsive, not so impulsive. What it's all about is that the group works well. There is no unique recipe, but fortunately we have done well.'
They are doing well, he stresses, because Aragones left great work behind.
'There was a consolidated team with good relations, which was the main thing. Second, there were two systems of play that the national team worked with, there were acquired habits that we did not have to change much either. It has been a sweet landing.'
A calm man, without excesses - he smiles when told that no one could ever compare him with coaches like Diego Maradona or Fabio Capello, - Del Bosque stresses that 'the coach's joy always has to be moderate, because around him there are also people who are not quite happy.' Some get to follow the game from the bench, others don't even make it past the stands.
'Well, there are 11 men who play, 15 who do not play ... How's that for cruelty?'
Spain is working as a team in the Confederations Cup, even though Del Bosque has three key midfield men on his injury list.
'We have gradually adapted to the players we had. Three men who were vital at the Euro, (Marcos) Senna, (Andres) Iniesta and (David)Silva himself are not playing now. We are playing with a different midfield.'
'We were never tempted to change anything, I don't know whether we have really changed anything. I don't know whether this is better or worse than what (Spain) did before, but it is what we do.'
What the team did before was what Aragones did. Del Bosque's predecessor is in South Africa as a television commentator, but the two men have not run into each other yet.
'No, I haven't seen him. I have no problem, and our recognition of him is sincere, really. He has done a great job.'
As Del Bosque tackles other ghosts of the past, Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez emerges as a dominant figure. Raul, set to turn 32 Saturday, played 102 matches with the national team, and he remains its top scorer with 44 goals.
Aragones pulled him off the squad in September 2006, and he has never returned. Del Bosque - who coached the striker at Real Madrid 1999-2003 - thinks there is room to debate a potential return.
'He keeps playing for Real Madrid. And if Real Madrid has two strikers and he is one of them, that is an objective fact.'
'A guy who has worn the national team jersey over 100 times ...' Del Bosque noted. 'I think in other countries people are very careful with that.'
Still, he stands by his decision.
'We have considered that that which we had received was handed to us without Raul, and we have built on that which we received.'
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