Several former players of the Spanish team endorsed this Thursday the “risky bets but with a lot of sense”, in the words of Robert Fernández, what Luis Enrique Martínez has done in his last calls as national coach and they predicted that the results will be even better with the passage of time.
The former Valencia and Barcelona player assured that Luis Enrique “is a magnificent coach”, recalled that he was able to work with him at the Catalan club and was sure that “he will bring out the team’s performance.” “He knows football very well, he likes his idea of football a lot and there are the results. He has no prejudices to call one or the other and people are very excited and very happy despite, for example, that the other day they could not win the final or the last European Championship. The performance and the feeling are very popular with people and that means that things are being done well, “Robert told EFE.
In the run-up to an event that brought together past and current national team players, Bruno Soriano stressed the change that this way of working has brought about. “We came from a very recognizable selection by names, in which almost always the same ones went. This transition had to be done, there is a lot of level. There are very important players who are performing, I think they are mature and in the next matches and championships they will be at a very good level, “he predicted.
The former Villarreal recalled how “complicated” it was in his stage to be called up by the national team. “At that time there were the six or seven from Madrid, the six or seven from Barça and the rest that remained and we fought among many for two or three places. That has changed a bit, not just anyone can go, but there are more options. They are stages that pass, “Soriano explained to Efe.
For his part, Pablo Hernández, formerly of Valencia and now in Castellón, said that the change is “good for Spanish football, for the kids, for young people.” “They seem risky bets to take players with so little experience but I think Luis Enrique is knowing how to manage it and they are responding on the pitch”, he pointed. “In the short term, it is still difficult to get results with so many young people and with little experience, but for the future it is something very good and hopefully new cases like Gavi’s will continue to occur, which showed that he has the level to be there and that there will be many more “he added.
Fernando Gómez Colomer, former Valencia and -like the rest- of the national team, said that he “does not care” if he summons “younger, older or a mix of people” and pointed out that the important thing is that the things well as is happening. “What I like is that the national team goes well, that they get good results and that the fans are happy with the results and with the team’s play. He is showing his face, competing well and playing very good games. He has a very defined style and he is expressing it on the field of play against almost any opponent, mainly he does it with the best rather than with the worst “, he detailed.
“I think it is very difficult to play against Spain, he has a lot of ball and sense, playing well in the opposite field and with a great offensive capacity,” he said. the now coach, who said that the improvement must come in defensive aspects to concede less. Fernando did agree with the rest of the ex-internationals that the access ‘requirements’ have changed. “Yes, it is true that before it gave the impression that you had to have a certain background with your team in the League to go to the national team; and now that does not happen but since it is a matter of taste and as Luis Enrique is a selector / coach, I don’t care who goes as long as they go well, “he concluded.