Del Bosque: England loss no cause for alarm
Reuters - Monday 14 November 2011, 20:56
Spain should
not be alarmed at losing to England in a friendly on Saturday
but neither should the world and European champions dismiss the
1-0 defeat, coach Vicente del Bosque said on Monday.
Although the Spanish exerted their customary dominance at
Wembley against a depleted and defence-minded England they were
unable to convert long periods of possession into goals and the
hosts grabbed the winner when Darren Bent nodded a James Milner
free-kick on to a post and Frank Lampard followed up to score.
The defeat was the latest reverse against heavyweight
opposition for the Spanish since they lifted their first World
Cup in South Africa last year following friendly losses to
Argentina, Portugal and Italy.
"We analysed what happened," Del Bosque told a news
conference ahead of Spain's match against Costa Rica in San Jose
on Tuesday.
"We had some good possession and practically kept the ball
from them," added the former Real Madrid coach.
"We did not have necessary finesse playing the final ball
but everything else we did pretty well and we therefore
shouldn't alarm ourselves, although we should not ignore it
either."
Spain's relatively poor run in friendlies contrasts with
their perfect record of eight wins in eight in qualifying for
Euro 2012, when they will seek to defend their continental
crown.
They have not lost a competitive game since slipping to a
shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland in their opening match at the
2010 World Cup and will be strong favourites to win a third
successive major tournament in Ukraine and Poland next year.
POWERFUL STRIKERS
Del Bosque said his squad contained enough depth to allow
him to respond to most situations.
He opted to play without a traditional target man on
Saturday, deploying forward David Villa and playmakers David
Silva and Andres Iniesta in attack and leaving powerful strikers
Fernando Torres and Fernando Llorente on the bench.
"The richness of a team depends on its variants," said Del
Bosque who brought on Torres in the second half.
"We have various ways of playing depending on which players
we pick.
"The playing concept does not vary but there are
alternatives. We must not blindly stick to one way of playing,
there is not only one system, one scheme.
"You have to prepare yourself for every situation."
Del Bosque's words were echoed by midfielder Cesc Fabregas,
who squandered a decent late chance for an equaliser against
England on his return to London.
"We have to adapt to everything because this can happen to
us," the former Arsenal captain said.
"Despite the lack of goals, we controlled the game well and
our attitude was good," he added.
"There is little to criticise about the attitude and the
performance but football is like that.
"Sometimes things happen that you are not expecting. They
scored from a free kick and we lost."
Costa Rica, ranked 62nd in the world, come into Tuesday's
game having lost 2-0 in a friendly in Panama last week.