Cesc Fabregas admitted Spain were not at their best against Italy but put the 1-1 down to La Roja experimenting as “we must be complete” for Euro 2016.
Aritz Aduriz’s equaliser rescued Spain during Thursday’s friendly in Udine, but Fabregas reminded critics that La Roja were not at full strength – as opposed to their opponents – and used the game to tweak their attacking play against esteemed opposition.
“It wasn’t our best game of the season,” he said at a Press conference.
“We played against Italy away from home, they played with all their starts and and were missing some important players.
“We didn’t play with our best sensations, but with the feeling of having accomplished [our aim of avoiding defeat].
“We discover the international dates at the start of the season and come here with the utmost enthusiasm.
“I'm delighted to be able to wear the national team’s jerset. It’s an honour.
“It was a sad moment when we learned of [Johan Cruyff’s] death.
“It’s a great loss to football. He radically changed so many ways of thinking [in football] and we have to be eternally grateful for all that he personally and collectively gave to football, as a player and Coach.
“Games like [on Thursday] demand a lot of you as they need more tactical training.
“The Coach said we had to find another way to attack [against Italy], but the most important thing is that we keep learning and improving ahead of the European Championship.
“In the last two games, the Coach chose to play with two strikers. I think the Coach is looking for alternatives if the game is tight.
“We must be prepared for everyone because other teams can play like Italy, so we must strive to be as complete as possible at the Euros.”
