INTERVIEW: Spain has World Cup final in its sights: Del Bosque

By Sebastian Fest and Alberto Bravo Jul 6, 2010, 14:37 GMT

Potchefstroom, South Africa ­ He is about to take charge of the most important game of his life, but Vicente del Bosque feels his team are the favorites ahead of their semi-final against Germany in Durban on Wednesday, and that come Sunday night he will be part of an even bigger match ­ the World Cup final.

Its true that years ago we settled for just being at the finals. Now we have to try to be the best,' the Spain coach said in an interview with the German Press Agency, dpa.

The coach admits that his team arrived to the tournament tired and that Germany look invigorated and very different to the team that was beaten 1-0 by Spain in the European Championship final in 2008.

When we played against the Germans in the past they seemed as if they were from another planet. That is now a thing of the past, independently of what happens in this match,' added Del Bosque, just five months from his 60th birthday and with the chance to make Spain the eighth nation to lift the World Cup.

All he has to do is guide them past the three-times champions and 12 times semi-finalists Germany.

dpa: You played in the 70s, do you recognise this Germany?

Del Bosque: I remember the German team of the 70s and they were very good. This team has many players from Bayern Munich just like that one - (Gerd) Mueller, (Uli) Hoeness... They had a great team.

dpa: What impression do you get from Germany today?

Del Bosque: In midfield they have (Sami) Khedira and (Bastian) Schweinsteiger, who have both been fundamental in how the team has worked. But it is not just those two because they are supported by (Philipp) Lahm and Mersut Oezil, and (Miroslav) Klose is extraordinary. Then they have other more discreet players who do a fantastic job like the central defenders for example.

dpa: Can we say that this is not a traditional German side. What has changed?

Del Bosque: Germany have a script that does not change regardless of who they are up against. They have renewed practically half their team since June 2008 and with players like (Thomas) Mueller, (Jerome) Boateng, the goalkeeper, Oezil... the team has changed. The work they have carried out at grass roots has paid dividends. They still have the German competitiveness but there has been an important progression.

dpa: What do you find striking about (German coach Joachim) Loew, who was Juergen Klinsmanns number two four years ago?

Del Bosque: It is a team that functions well also thanks to the technical director (Oliver) Bierhoff. They have all done an excellent job. They have travelled, they have made Germany progress without losing touch of the German philosophy. They have brought in new ideas but not lost their identity.

dpa: So does the 1-0 in the final two years ago count for anything against such a different Germany?

Del Bosque: It serves us to remember what was an important moment for Spanish football. But two years is a long time, especially in international football.

dpa: You are in a strange position because you are in charge of the most successful World Cup campaign in 60 years but if you lose on Wednesday the talk will be of failure. Will defeat in the semi-final be a failure'

Del Bosque: It is a great credit to the players to be among the four best teams. But that must not stop us going even further. It is true that in the past it has been enough just to be at the finals. Now we have to try to win them.

dpa: But the semi-finals are now the least Spain should expect?

Del Bosque: I think we have achieved our principal aim ­ the minimum requirement - but now the players must not settle for that.

dpa: How is everyone physically?

Del Bosque: These players are in excellent condition, if they were not they would not be playing at this level. Our football is based on technique more than physical force. They arrived tired but the excitement of playing in a tournament like this lifts everyone and allows you to get past that.

dpa: Has this World Cup rewarded hard working organised teams more than ever before?

Del Bosque: Every day more. Without an organized team it is very difficult to achieve anything.

dpa: What does this Spain team have that Spain sides in the previous 60 years have not?

Del Bosque: There is no logical answer. There have always been other very good teams. If we talk just in sporting terms, Spain has always been a team that did not seem as though it was part of Europe. But bit by bit we have grown and now it is normal that we compete in everything ­ football, tennis, athletics, cycling, in all sports. It is a natural thing for a country that has grown socially.

dpa: Spain has finally lost its complex?

Del Bosque: Without doubt. When we played against the Germans in the past they seemed as if they were from another planet. That now, independently of what happens in the match, is a thing of the past.