Llorente surprised by plaudits
Reuters - Thursday 01 July 2010, 11:52
POTCHEFSTROOM - Fernando
Llorente has been surprised by the praise heaped on him after
his match-turning performance in Spain's 1-0 second round
victory over Portugal on Tuesday.
The powerful striker replaced the misfiring Fernando Torres
shortly after half time in Cape Town and succeeded in causing
chaos amongst the Portugal defenders where Torres, who has
recently returned from a knee surgery, had failed.
Llorente's performance, in which he twice came close to
scoring and was involved in the build-up to David Villa's
winning goal, has prompted debate about whether coach Vicente
del Bosque should deploy him from the start.
"I wasn't expecting all this (praise) but I was keen to get
a chance," Llorente told a news conference at Spain's training
base in Potchefstroom on Thursday.
"It has all been really nice and playing a part in such an
morale-boosting victory was even better," he added.
Asked whether he had played well enough to earn a place in
the European champions' starting 11 for Saturday's quarter-final
against Paraguay, Llorente noted that Spain had an embarrassment
of riches in their 23-man squad.
"There are players of exceptional quality and they all
deserve to play," the 25-year-old said.
"It's very difficult to get in the side and the coach is
obviously the one who makes the decisions."
Del Bosque will probably keep faith with Torres in a
two-pronged attack with Villa against the Paraguayans as Spain
seek a semi-final clash against Argentina or Germany.
Llorente predicted Paraguay would use the same defensive
tactics as Spain's other opponents in South Africa and insisted
the team would not abandon their emphasis on an attack-minded
style marked by long periods of possession and quick passing.
"We are not going to change anything we have been doing,
even though we are certain to come up against a team that sits
back," he said.
"We are used to teams doing that and let's see if we are
capable of getting it right."
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