Spain face CR7 hurdle

Compared to Spain’s coaching chaos, the distractions created by Cristiano Ronaldo have become almost meaningless for Portugal.

Spain will play their opening World Cup match against the European champions on Friday with a coach who has been on the job for only two days.

Fernando Hierro, a former Spain player who had been acting as the national team’s sports director in Russia, will coach the squad following the Spanish federation’s decision to fire Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday.

Portugal had been the team dealing with off-the-field distractions ever since Ronaldo hinted after the Champions League final that he was going to leave Real Madrid.

He said he would reveal his plans when he joined the national team, putting the spotlight on himself instead of Portugal’s World Cup preparations, but he was yet to make any announcement.

Spain’s senior pro Sergio Ramos, however, insists that the 50-year-old Hierro has what it takes to shine in Russia. “We needed to move forward as quickly as possible.

“These were not pleasant times. Julen Lopetegui helped us qualify. He played a major part for us,” Ramos told reporters at Thursday’s media conference.

“But the sooner we focus on the World Cup, the better for all of us. There are few people more qualified than Fernando to cover after Lopetegui’s departure. We’ve all admired him as a player for a long time. So, he’s the perfect candidate to take charge of this post.

Admitting that Lopetegui’s abrupt departure had been a shock for the squad, the Real Madrid defender called on his teammates to focus on the task on hand as he prepares to clash against Real teammate Ronaldo.

“These are situations that you’re slightly more informed about what’s going on, as a captain. We can all have our own personal interpretations, but the people who make decisions like this are others,” Ramos added.

“The sooner we put this behind, the better it is. We shouldn’t focus on this too much. We have to play against the reigning European champions tomorrow and the sooner we focus on this, the better will it be. We have to forget about what happened lately.”

Ramos wants to make the Cup a special since it’s his first as captain. “I think that the more experience one gains, the more mature one becomes and more comfortable one feels in difficult situations.

“I take this World Cup on with dreams in my eyes. I’m very ambitious. It’s my first World Cup as captain. Football teaches us in difficult situations, so I can learn a lot from this.”

On the other hand, Portugal coach Fernando Santos wants Portugal to keep the same low-key mentality that worked well for the team at Euro 2016.

Santos said Portugal can be considered “candidates” for the title in Russia, but it still shouldn’t be included among the top contenders despite being European champions.

Also, Spain’s stunning managerial change on the eve of the World Cup will not affect their performance in their opener, Santos added.

“It is Spain and Portugal,” Santos said. “Spain have played like that for 10 years, so I don’t think there are going to be any surprises whatsoever. What is important is the team that plays, and the strategy and no more than that.

“Spain are fantastic opponents, nonetheless” he said.

Santos knows Hierro, but stopped short of wishing his friend the best in their Group B opener. “Tomorrow is the opening game for two great teams and two great sets of players,” Santos said.

“I am not going to say good luck to Hierro and his players, but I do hope they have a great tournament. Spain believe they can win and we are also an opponent that is quite confident of winning the game.”

Match starts: 12pm (BDT).

Source: Agencies