Spain World Cup Tickets

Friday, July 9, 2010

Van Marwijk: We do not fear Spain

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk admits Spain play a more attractive brand of football than his team - but he insists the Dutch do not fear them. The two European countries will both be bidding for their first FIFA World Cup™ success when they meet in the final on Sunday.

Vicente del Bosque's side are European champions and have been the most impressive international outfit for the past two years. They had struggled to hit top form in South Africa, though, losing their opening game to Switzerland before battling their way through to the semi-final, where their impeccable passing game returned in a 1-0 win over Germany.

"At this moment I think Spain play a little more attractively than we do," said Van Marwijk. "Although we would like to do the same, they have a few more advantages right now. They are playing very well with the ball and without the ball when they are reacting very quickly so it could be a very interesting game between two teams who want to play football."

"We respect Spain but we are not afraid." Bert van Marwijk, Netherlands coach

Whatever happens at Soccer City, one of the two countries, widely seen as the biggest underachievers in international football, will end their wait for a world title. The Netherlands have lost in the final before, while Spain had never previously made it into the last four, but Van Marwijk insisted he was not interested in the past. He added: "I don't think in that way. I only think of that game we play in the final. Whatever happened in the past is not important and we have to prepare. There are no secrets for us with Spain. We are not afraid."

Van Marwijk did not elaborate on how he planned to combat Spain's famed ability to keep possession. "I will tell the players but I will not explain it here," he said. The Dutch boss also claimed it did not concern him if the Netherlands were viewed as underdogs. "It doesn't interest me even if the whole world says they are favourites," he said. "It's a game of two countries against each other and both want to win and can win, and we have confidence in ourselves. We respect Spain but we are not afraid. It's a big challenge to play against Spain and to beat them."

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Low: We are stronger than in 2008

Spain head into their FIFA World Cup™ semi-final with Germany with a warning they will have to overcome a much stronger side than the one they beat in the UEFA EURO 2008 final.

Germany coach Joachim Low, believes his side's progress over the last two years has been significant enough to give them every reason to believe they can turn the tables on their opponents and book a spot in Sunday's final.

"After we lost the 2008 final we were all very disappointed but you have to admit that Spain were clearly the best team in that tournament so they deserved to win the Euro," Low said.

"Two years on, we have made a lot of changes, Spain not so many. In this tournament, in terms of how we've been playing, we've clearly come on several steps since 2008. In 2008, we were not as consistent and we perhaps did not have the same quality in every position as we have now. The players we have now have incredible skill, technique and tactical nous.

"The players we have now have incredible skill, technique and tactical nous."Joachim Low, Germany coach

He added: "We worked on developing these players and the team. Our combinations and flow are superior to 2008 when we used a lot of energy but were not always able to dominate. Now it's a different story. We have been able to keep opponents under control and put them in trouble."

Germany's four-goal hammerings of England and Argentina in their last two outings have underlined the potency of Low's rejuvenated squad and their pace, power and clinical finishing has made a strong impression on his Spanish counterpart Vicente Del Bosque.

"I think Germany are greatly improved since 2008," Del Bosque admitted. "Their squad has undergone a renewal with important young players coming through but they have maintained the traditional values of German football. They have players of high quality with good technical skills.

"They have their moments when they attack and when they fall back. They have strong individuals who can make the difference in the match, so it is going to be an interesting meeting of two strong teams."

Del Bosque, who took over the Spanish side following the retirement of Luis Aragones in the wake of the UEFA EURO 2008 triumph, also believes Spain have got better, despite relying on the same core group of players.

"We have followed the path laid down by the the previous coach, but we have included some new players. You can't stand still in football. We have tried to build on what we achieved before but I think we have also improved."

Spain have found themselves frustrated in South Africa by the determination of opponents to stop them playing, but Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta is expecting an open match in Durban.

"What we have seen so far in the tournament, tells us that we will have an open match," said Iniesta. "Both teams will attack. The important thing for us will be to play our own game, keep possession of the ball and try to move it into dangerous positions."

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hierro hails Spanish mentality

Former Spain defender Fernando Hierro believes a change in mentality has been the main reason behind his country's sudden improvement at major championships. La Roja are in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup™ for the first time, while they were also crowned European champions in 2008 for the first time since 1964.

The Spaniards have regularly arrived at major tournaments with quality sides, but have constantly failed to deliver on the biggest stage. "What has changed is the mentality," said Hierro. "After 44 years, Spain are now the European champions. This is showing now in this tournament with the team reaching the semi-final. The team now has momentum, but what the win in 2008 has done is give the team more confidence and they have matured as well."

What the win in 2008 has done is give the team more confidence and they have matured as well.Fernando Hierro, former Spain defender

Vicente del Bosque's team will play Germany in the last four tomorrow after a not entirely convincing campaign so far. After losing to Switzerland in their opening game, they bounced back with wins over Honduras and Chile, before battling to 1-0 victories over Portugal and Paraguay in the last two rounds.

David Villa has been the outstanding player so far, with five goals to his name, but his strike partner Fernando Torres has struggled, though, and Hierro added: "Fernando is a very important player in the Spanish team. He came into the team after being out injured for five weeks. I think he is showing slowly, game after game, that he is improving. There is no doubt he brings great quality to the team in attack and I hope he will improve even more."

Former Netherlands star Ruud Gullit also defended Torres, saying: "He had a bad injury during the season. Therefore it now needs for him to get rhythm. I know I saw Torres all year and for me he is one of the best strikers in the world. I think the World Cup maybe came at the wrong moment for him. Still, it does not change my opinion on him. You can see he is working very hard, but just missing that little bit at the end."

Monday, July 5, 2010

Pique: We must be more ruthless

Nicknamed 'Piquenbauer' in his homeland in honour of the legendary German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer, Barcelona and Spain’s classy centre-back Gerard Pique has already done plenty to justify such comparisons. At the tender age of 23, the 6’3” defender has UEFA Champions League winners’ medals from his time at Manchester United and Barça, while he has been an integral part ofLa Roja’s run to the semi-finals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Indeed, never before have Spain appeared in the semi-finals at the global showpiece, though such was the narrow nature of their 1-0 last-eight win over Paraguay that the achievement took some time to sink in. “Everyone’s still looking quite tense because it was a really tough game,” Pique.

“Paraguay made life very difficult for us. They kept things very tight at the back, had a few chances and even a penalty. But from that point on I think we controlled the game, created opportunities of our own and, despite also missing a penalty, we managed to grab a goal and win the game.”

La Albirroja strike pair Oscar Cardozo and Nelson Valdez were a constant threat to Pique and his fellow defenders, with the usually unflappable Barcelona man put off his stride to the point of giving away a penalty for a foul on the rangy Benfica hitman. Fortunately for him, Spain captain Iker Casillas was up to the task of saving Cardozo’s tame spot-kick.

“He was brilliant today, the man of the match,” said a clearly relieved Pique, who left Barcelona’s youth system to join United, before returning to the Camp Nou in summer 2008. “Iker saved the penalty and made two fantastic saves later on. It’s a real privilege having him in the side; you know he’ll always come to your rescue.”

Our objective is to win the Trophy and we’ll go home with a sour taste in our mouths if we fall short.Gerard Pique

Lying in wait for Vicente del Bosque’s charges are a red-hot Germany side, beaten by Spain in the final of UEFA EURO 2008, but who are buoyed by 4-1 and 4-0 knockout victories over England and Argentina respectively.

“They are a great team with wonderful players,” said Pique of his side’s opponents on 7 July at the Durban Stadium. “It’s going to be very tough to stop them because they’re in form and will be hugely confident after emphatic wins over England and Argentina. But we’re looking good too and we’ve proved that we’re solid at the back after not conceding in our last two games.

“It’ll be a very difficult match,” continued Pique, when the question of Die Nationalmannschaft seeking revenge for that continental reverse came up. “There are new players on both sides, such as myself, who didn’t play in the final of EURO 2008. So I’m sure this’ll be a very different game but we’ll be doing our best to win again.”

Scorer of the winning goal in the teams’ European title decider two summers ago was Fernando Torres. With El Niño yet to score at South Africa, Pique was quick to back the Liverpool striker to come good: “He’s definitely going to score at this World Cup. Let’s hope he gets off the mark in the semis.”

One player having no trouble finding the net is David Villa, set to be an Azulgrana team-mate of Pique in 2010/11, who has scored five of Spain’s six goals at the finals on South African soil. “When a striker is on form then everything seems to go in,” said Pique of El Guaje’s 83rd-minute winner against La Albirroja. “The Paraguay game was a clear example. The ball hit both posts before going in, whereas on another day it might have bounced back out again.”

Yet despite boasting the tournament’s top scorer and having safely negotiated their way into the last four, Pique still feels Spain have plenty of work still to do. “We need to start controlling games better. There are periods in games when we’re under the cosh and that’s when we struggle.

“We also need to be more clinical in front of goal. We’re finding it really hard to score and are winning games by just one goal. We need our attackers to be more ruthless, we need to score more goals,” said a player who has literally put his body on the line for the cause during this tournament. Indeed, having needed stitches for a gash received in the melee leading to Switzerland’s winner in Spain’s Group H opener, he burst his lip in a clash with an opposing forward in the very next game against Honduras.

Not that he will mind another couple of scars should La Roja go all the way to a first ever FIFA World Cup crown. “Our aim is to keep making history,” he said as the interview concluded. “Our objective is to win the Trophy and we’ll go home with a sour taste in our mouths if we fall short.”

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Del Bosque looking forward

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will not be taking anything for granted when his side come up against Paraguay in their FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final later today.

The tournament lost one of its outright favourites yesterday when Brazil were beaten by Holland. The attention is now on another one of the world's top sides, who have never been beaten by their South American opponents in three previous matches, which have ended in one win and two draws.

But Del Bosque said: "It is always the next match which is the most important. We have huge respect for what Paraguay has done and we certainly don't have the guarantee that it's going to be an easy match. You cannot be too optimistic to win, I mean there's so many teams on the same level, we certainly cannot already announce the result. So both teams will be in the same position, which is wanting to win and be in the semi-final."

With regard to Brazil being put out, the Spanish boss revealed it was not a massive surprise for him. He continued: "I don't think it's a lesson knowing the reality of football. We know that every match can be complicated. We start of on equal footing and the nature of sport is that anything can happen."

And he conceded that Spain's rise on the global stage over the past two years, which saw them crowned UEFA European champions in 2008, has brought with it further expectation.

He added: "I think this is a consequence of the position of Spanish football and I think Spain is in a good moment of its football history, so we want to play a good World Cup."

Opposite number Gerardo Martino, whose side have already made history by reaching the last eight for the first time, was predictably worried about facing such a talented team. But he said there were no easy teams at this stage, and targeted an interruption of Spain's passing game as one of the keys to success.

"Spain has so much ball possession that it forces you to defend," he said. "Teams have prepared a certain way of playing, but Spain still scored. They have ball possession 65-70% of the game and it imposes its style of play on you. We have to keep Spain from passing the ball. We have to move, show mobility up front, so that we can score goals."

Friday, July 2, 2010

Villa on track to match Raul

Should Spain get to the FIFA World Cup™ Final, in-form striker David Villa could write a new page in the tournament's history and over-take Raul as his country's all-time top scorer.

Whereas strike partner Fernando Torres has laboured in four scoreless appearances on his return from ankle surgery in April, Villa appears to have the Midas touch. Virtually everything the Barcelona new boy has touched has been turning to goal, the hiccup of an early loss to Switzerland aside. For a generation, Spanish fans have been weaned on goals from Real Madrid goalscoring machine Raul, but suddenly his 44 goals in 102 games look mundane because 'Maravilla' has already smashed 42, in 40 games less.

Despite their stellar midfield and two of the best strikers in the world, Spain have generally been finding goals hard to come by, with just five in four games. But give Villa a half-chance and he tends to snap it up -- hence his personal haul of four goals so far, matched only by Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain and Slovakia's Robert Vittek. With Vittek having departed the tournament, Villa and Higuain are vying for the adidas Golden Boot for top scorer, though the likes of Brazil's Luis Fabiano and German pair Thomas Muller and Miroslav Klose may have something to say about that.

Villa, 28, has already become the top marksman for Spain in FIFA World Cup history with seven goals to date, leaving behind legendary figures such as Emilio Butragueno, Fernando Hierro, Fernando Morientes and Raul himself, who all netted five times at the tournament.

Villa, Barcelona's 40-million-euro capture from Valencia, modestly insists that Torres's very presence and reputation gives him more space in which to operate, to devastating effect. "The only thing you can 'reproach' [Torres] for is not to have scored yet. His desire to be with the team is truly spectacular," Villa told Spanish television. "We know what state his knee was in a month ago and I do not agree with those people who say that Fernando Torres' performances have been below par."

In the Round-of-16 win over Portugal, Torres gave way to Fernando Llorente of Athletic Bilbao on the hour but Villa insisted that "Torres helped the side a lot against Portugal and Llorente continued that work". He added: "Torres is not in bad form. He has admirable character and we all know his World Cup moment will arrive -- hopefully against Paraguay on Saturday."

At his current rate of a goal a game in South Africa, Villa would draw level with Raul by scoring in that game, then adding another in the semi-finals against either Germany or Argentina. It would then remain for him to consign Raul's haul to history with goal number 45 in the Final -- something that would surely make up for missing Spain's UEFA EURO 2008 coronation in Vienna through injury, when it was match-winner Torres who stole all the limelight.