Vicente Del Bosque revealed Aritz Aduriz was grateful for the call to the Spain squad but he told him ‘you’re here thanks to yourself.’
Athletic Bilbao striker Aduriz was named in the group to play Italy and Romania after a prolific season with the Basques, returning to the national team fold six years after his first and only cap, at the age of 35.
“Since November, when we did the last list, we couldn’t call him. He has merit as the figure at Athletic, and it was said with all naturalness, it seemed to me very politely, he was grateful,” AS quotes Del Bosque as saying.
“I told him there’s nothing to be grateful for. If you’re here, it’s because of you.
“Right now we have four forwards who can go to Euro 2016, or maybe three, or even two. We’ll evaluate it, there’s time.
“I hope Aduriz is the same as he is at Athletic, where he is a focal point in attack, finishes when he has chances and is the first one to defend when the opponent has the ball.
“Lucas Perez and Borja Baston, they have possibilities, or someone else who is not in anyone’s thoughts also has possibilities.
“We have two months to decide the forwards in the squad. We’ll do what is best for the team.”
