Johannesurg – As Vicente Del Bosque sat in the bowels of FNB Stadium on Monday, he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a bangle. The Spain coach was wearing the same bangle the last time he sat in the same press conference room, just after Spain had won the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
“I am a bit superstitious, it has lost a bit of its colour, but I have kept it for good luck until now,” said Del Bosque, ahead of Spain’s game against Bafana on Tuesday.
The Spain coach otherwise appeared reluctant to dwell too much on the past, understandably for a man who has since won a European championship and qualified his team for the World Cup in Brazil next year
“We won the (World Cup), we also won the European cup and now we are going to another World Cup. We have all those memories of winning those games and … it is a great moment to be here,” he said.
Del Bosque added that it felt a little different driving up to the FNB Stadium on Monday than it had ahead of the World Cup final.
“When we were coming four years ago, there were so many people and so many things going through our minds that when we saw the stadium again and walked through the change rooms and the ground, it was a bit like we hadn’t been here! (But) we have a romantic feeling about winning the cup and wonderful memories.”
One man reminiscing about the World Cup final yesterday was Chelsea and Spain winger Juan Mata, who remarked in a blog that Spain have been staying in exactly the same hotel as they did for the July 11, 2010 final.
“Today I’m writing from a very special place, a place where I spent just a few nights and my dream came true,” said Mata on grada360.com.
“I’m referring to Hotel Da Vinci, in the outskirts of Johannesburg … It is the same place we stayed at before the World Cup final, those unforgettable days that ended up in an amazing party.
“When we landed in South Africa a lot of memories came to mind. When you think about it it’s already been more than three years!
“ … this Tuesday we will return to Soccer City, the stadium where Spain won the World Cup for the first time and I’m sure it will be very emotional. Winning the World Cup is something indescribable. I still remember Iniesta’s goal as if it was yesterday; 42 million people scored with his right foot.”
The Spanish team have also found time to relax on their trip to Johannesburg, on Tuesday taking in a screening of Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, as tweeted by midfielder Xabi Alonso, set to miss Tuesday’s game with an injury he picked up in the 2-1 friendly win over Equatorial Guinea on Saturday evening.
“From Johannesburg. Looking forward to watching ‘Mandela: Long walk to Freedom’ with @idriselba,” said Alonso on Tuesday.
Bafana have played Spain three times before, losing on each occasion, though the South African side has always run La Roja fairly close. At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, Spain’s 3-2 victory over Bafana prevented Jomo Sono’s side from making it out of the group stages.
More recently, at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, goals from David Villa and Fernando Llorente gave Spain a 2-0 win in the group stages in Bloemfontein. La Roja then also beat South Africa in the 3rd/4th place play off, with a 3-2 victory after extra-time, Alonso’s free-kick proving the winner.
Del Bosque was coach for both those Confederations Cup games and clearly has a lot of respect for Bafana.
“We already played them twice during the Confederations Cup and this is a team with fast good players, individually very good players, they will give us a hard time,” he said.
The Star