Saturday June 27, 2009
Vacation, not third place play-off, on Spaniards’ minds
BLOEMFONTEIN: Vacation, not a third-place game at the Confederations Cup, was on the minds of Spain’s players on Thursday.
“We’re not playing in the final and I don’t know why a third-place game is played, really,” Spain defender Joan Capdevila said. “But we have to play it.”
Spain will face South Africa in Rustenburg tomorrow after the United States beat the European champions 2-0 to deny them a chance to collect a second major trophy in two years.
Spain trained in Bloemfontein on Thursday and were expected to travel to Rustenburg yesterday to prepare for tomorrow’s match at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.
Now the task for coach Vicente del Bosque will be about keeping Spain motivated for another four days with nearly all players coming off a long season.
“You have to play, it’s staged this way. Whenever you have a chance to reach the final and you don’t, it’s hard,” Spain defender Carles Puyol said. “We’re motivated to finish third but we’re also motivated to go on vacation.”
Puyol is one of four Barcelona players who played two games per week nearly all season on the way to becoming the first Spanish club to win the league, domestic Cup and Champions League in the same season. And Spain are nearly certain to be playing in South Africa again next year at the World Cup.
Striker Fernando Torres said he would be available tomorrow, regardless of the importance of the match.
“I always want to play with the national team,” the Liverpool striker said. “This team won’t concede to anybody. We have to play it as if it was a final. We have to defend our country’s pride and finish third.”
Like most fans, Spain were dreaming of a final showdown against Brazil who reached the final by beating South Africa 1-0.
“Yes, we were very motivated to play against Brazil,” Puyol said.
Spain and Brazil haven’t played since a 0-0 draw in Vigo, Spain, nearly a decade ago, with Brazil winning four and drawing twice in eight meetings. — AP
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