Chattin’ it up with La Roja

Oh Fernando, how I’ve missed your Farrah Fawcett/Wolverine hybrid hair! I’m so glad his pretty prettiness was called up by VdB…now if he can only get some minutes. VdB, give the man some minutes! Let me stop myself before this turns into a ‘I pledge allegiance to the Lion King’ post, we’ve have many a pressers & piccies to get through.

See? Everyone missed Llorente!

Here’s some leftover footage from the plane ride and arrival of La Roja in Ecuador, where they were greeted by a good amount of fans, as always.

 

I always gotta start with the big boss, VdB spoke to the press followed by Iker & Iniesta.

VdB:

The Ecuadorian NT – I thought they were a team with much physical strength, which dominate the space well.

On bringing three keepers – We did not want to cut the links between the keepers, in the Confederations Cup, the focus was on the coexistence of them and we wanted to continue that way. We have an eye on the Under-21 and of course on De Gea, who will mark an epoch in Manchester, but right now this is our decision.

Differences between European and American football – There are no differences as before, the Ecuadorian team players play outside in European leagues, so everything is mixed.

Iniesta:

On Ecuador – We will try to make the most of this match. It’s the beginning of the season, we are trying to find the best fit and this match will serve us for that. Ahead of us, we have a team that plays very well, in their stadium, with its people … we’ll try to make a good impression here.

On Isco – For us, that there are people with such quality is good news. With new people coming we have to accept the good, very quickly Isco has shown immense talent and quality, just wish to continue to grow and it is a reality, in the future he will be very important for the team.

Iker:

The environment – In the Confederations we reached the final but were not as good as the champions, but it was a good championship. Now we start a new year with lots of dreams and the desire to do well.

The difference between European and American football – South American teams already know they always play hard, run a lot, do not leave gaps, you suffocate … it’s hard for us because the only way that you earn is working even more. If I were to tell any difference, I think maybe European football is more offensive, here I see more physical play.

On the match – We are delighted to come to South America, we played a lot in the continent recently during the Confederations also before, in North America … we are accustomed to travel, people … You get so far away that everyone wants see the Spanish national team and that’s good for us.

The three newbies enjoyed some press time as well. Inigo, Tello, & Koke, good luck & fingers crossed for your debuts!

Inigo:

Opportunity – It will certainly be an unforgettable experience. What I see is that it is an opportunity that I can take,  if I play the game against Finland or not we’ll see, for now I want to focus on enjoying this.

Moving up – The team has such great players that it is very easy to learn. We, the youth, what we’ve done is look at those who were up and learn a lot. Now we have reached a unique moment, and we try to do well and also to continue learning and improving.

On the opponent – Ecuador is going to be anything but simple. They have a very direct game and are very physical, we will have to work hard.

Tello:

The game of the selection – The team has shown that they are one of the greatest teams in the world, but every game is different and it is true as more and more we analyze rivals.

On the group – I am proud to be part of this group, it is a team of champions. I’m very happy and would love to debut against Ecuador.

Koke:

On being called up – When I found out, truthfully, it is not what I expected. Being with the selection is a pride, it means being with peers who are world champions. We’ll try to play well against a great team, which is that of Ecuador, so we will try to make a great game.

Differences with the rival – In South America there is a different kind of football, there are many philosophies, we try to have the ball longer, with longer possessions and Ecuador is a physical game, with more direct attacks. It will difficult.

On a new generation of players – The coach has brought on us three new players, he is testing people and is seeing if they’re convincing. The important thing is that if we have the chance to play, we’ll try to do the best we can. It’s a friendly but it’s very important because there is a match against Finland shortly that would help a lot. Before the World Cup we must qualify, you must go slowly, when we’ll classify and see what matches are set.

Later on during the day, Iniesta, Iker, & Sergio filmed a little clip, inviting fans to watch tomorrow’s match. Biggest takeaway from the clip? Sergio’s roots are starting to show…..I’m wondering if the whole point of his bleach job, was just to let it grow out with the intentions of having the most authentic ombre locks. To which I say, baby..you dumb.

Sefutbol tweeted this pic of the pretties getting their training on, which looks like includes warming up by instagramming. Look out for more selfies & training shots later.

Pics & Video via Sefutbol, infocasillas, & lovefootballteam.

-Maisougio