Spain underway

That June 28th The expedition of the Selection traveled to Cape Town and trained in the stage of the party, the stadium Green Point, built for that World Cup. Spain arrived with the safe loss of Albiol for the match against Portugal. The defender had injured two days earlier in the afternoon training after a clash with Fernando Llorente that left his right ankle very injured.

Although the only safe casualty was Albiol, the medical services of the Spanish team had had enough work in the first two weeks of competition. First they worked so that Fernando Torres will come to the appointment and the doctor Jesus Garcia Cota was with The boy since April supervising his recovery. Already with the World Cup started, they had to fine-tune Iniesta from a muscle problem in the last friendly against Poland. And they had to infiltrate Ramos, who played forcing against Honduras and Chile for a back problem. Against Chile, Alonso was replaced by a sprain and was doubt for eighths.

The work of the medical services it is very important in a final phase. Spain also had a great team on this plot. The medical service was headed by the Dr. Óscar Luis Celada, former player of teams like Zaragoza and Sporting, along with Dr. Juan José García Cota, Celtic doctor. He team of physiotherapists Was composed of Miguel Gutiérrez, who was the most veteran and had been in the National Team since Javier Clemente's stage, together Raúl Martínez, Fernando Galán and Juan Carlos Herranz. For that final phase a retrofitter was incorporated, which was the Burgos Hugo waiter, who in the first weeks had more prominence for his work in the field with Iniesta and Torres.

At the press conference that day in Del Bosque, in addition to continuing to ask him about the double pivot Busquets-Alonso, whom he had criticized Johan Cruyff in The Newspaper of Catalonia after the game against Chile, they asked him about the physical state from the team: “Don't you see the National Team in physical minimums?” He coach answered no, it was a perception rather than a reality and he added: “What I am most satisfied with is how the footballers have trained from May 24“

And is that Selection it was of more to less physically in all three matches of the group stage and Javier Miñano, the team's physical trainer, had done the preparation with a view to the qualifying matches that began the next day against Portugal. In addition to convincing in the game, the Selection was preparing to be strong at physical plane to face the rest and earn their first World Cup. For this, it had level doctors and physiotherapists to prepare and recover soccer players quickly. That June 28, everyone except Albiol, they were full to face Cristiano's Portugal Ronaldo.