Vicente Del Bosque has denied he and the Spain coaching staff are ‘obsessed’ with finding a place for Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
Costa has been a controversial selection dating back to when he chose La Roja over Brazil, the country of his birth, having already played in two friendlies for the South Americans.
After declaring his allegiance for Spain and playing at the World Cup in Brazil there was a row between Spain and Chelsea over Costa’s fitness, with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho complaining that the player returned injured from international duty.
Del Bosque has denied that Spain have had to abandon their principles in order to accommodate Costa and touched on a number of other subjects.
“There is no obsession with Costa. It is a very special case,” the Coach conceded, Marca reports.
“At first people were reluctant for him to come here because he is a foreigner but this is a phenomenon that has been accepted.
“He comes with the desire to play well. Sometimes he fails, but he sweats for the shirt and wants to be helpful.
“I am confident Costa will be ok but the beginning was normal. If a player isn’t fit he doesn’t come. We have made no compromise or obligation to anyone.”
Asked why Costa is preferred over Fernando Llorente, Del Bosque replied that it’s not as if there’s a reason Llorente isn’t called.
“There’s nothing happened with Llorente. We’re not mad with anyone,” he continued.
“If we saw he was the right player to come here, he’d come and that would be it. The reason he doesn’t is that I can’t call 45 players.”
Del Bosque also shared his thoughts on Barcelona pair Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, and Spain and Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas.
“Casillas has fulfilled his duty for years and we have to think what if he gets injured or isn’t playing for his club,” he went on, regarding the decision to play David De Gea in Spain’s last game.
“We have to be prepared with someone or other.
“There’s been a lot of negativity about Pique but I think it’s more that Pique isn’t a straightforward player and isn’t just about sport.
“Busquets may have suffered a drop in form since he’s doing so much work and may not be at his best but we are always confident in him. He’s effective, provided he’s not injured.”
