PM: Struggling Spain needs Euro 2012 boost
Reuters - Friday 01 June 2012, 20:02
Spain need to win Euro 2012 to
help lift the country out of its economic gloom, prime minister
Mariano Rajoy said on Friday as the nation grappled with
crippling recession, sky-high unemployment and a deepening
banking crisis.
Visiting the Spanish squad at their training base outside
Madrid, Rajoy said the joy the world champions would give the
nation by retaining their Euro title would be "very comforting".
"I hope you win because as Spaniards we need a lift in such
difficult times," Rajoy said.
"A triumph for the national team would be a morale boost for
the whole of Spain," he added before being presented with a team
shirt with "M. Rajoy" printed above the number 10 by coach
Vicente del Bosque.
Spain play their final warm-up game on Sunday against China
in Seville. The team's opening Group C match against Italy in
Gdansk, Poland is on June 10.
They are bidding to become the first nation to win two
straight European titles with a World Cup in between.