Del Bosque: Success down to youth academies
Reuters - Saturday 30 June 2012, 14:26
The success of the Spanish
national team is mainly down to the efficiency of its clubs' football academies and the high quality of coaching staff, coach
Vicente del Bosque said.
A day before the world and European champions bid to defend
their continental title against Italy, Spain coach Del Bosque
said the Iberian nation was experiencing "an incredible era" and
was ready to become a leader in European football.
"[Our success] is not a coincidence and has its foundations
in many things, in the structure of our football, in the
academies, and in better coaches," he was quoted as saying on
the Spanish soccer federation's website.
"The [Spanish] clubs are devoting themselves to training
youngsters, some kids leave for foreign teams at a very young
age," he added.
"Before we would travel abroad to look at the academies in
France, Russia, Germany.
"Now many of these countries come to see what we are doing
in Spain."
Spain's probable starting lineup for Sunday's final in Kiev
will include six players who are products of Barcelona's youth
school, five of whom still play for the Catalan club and one,
Jordi Alba, who is poised to return there from Valencia.
Del Bosque said Spain had finally worked out how to convert
the dominance of clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid in
European competition over the years into success at the
international level.
"We have put a certain complex regarding Europe behind us
and right now we are at the same level as any country in our
vicinity," he said. "We are among a group of candidates to lead
European football."