On July 1, 2012, two of the protagonists of tomorrow’s clash between Valladolid and Oviedo watched on the grass one of those football exhibitions that sneak into the collective memory. Spain crushed Italy, 4-0, in the Euro Cup final, achieving its second consecutive continental title – and in between the long-awaited 2010 World Cup – and closing, although they did not know it yet, an unrepeatable cycle in Spanish football. Santi Cazorla and Álvaro Negredo had to live that experience in the background, neither had minutes in the final, but as part of a group that wrote their names in gold letters in the book of history. Both meet again in a very different scenario, Zorrilla (8:30 p.m.), in the dangerous Second Division.
Del Bosque lists the virtues that made Llanera’s player a place in his plans: “He was always a more offensive than defensive player, who fulfilled all the roles in the construction of the play, and who also has arrival and a good shot. “He was a danger whenever he had the ball and also that handling of both legs gave him many advantages. He is a very complete footballer.” And he summarizes his contribution in a descriptive phrase: “He is a boy who always offers security with the ball.”
To place the Oviedo player’s legacy in the history of Spanish football, del Bosque chooses to cite the greatest midfielders. “The best compliment that can be said to him is that in the generation of Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Del Bosque points out.
Although with some distance – he is more aware of the First Division -, the man from Salamanca remains attentive to the performances of his former pupil as a reference for Real Oviedo. Although he missed the international’s exhibition against Burgos, Del Bosque comments that “I have seen him in some games when he came on in the second half and you can still see the enormous quality he has. I think that until the day he retires, Cazorla will continue playing football well because his talent is indisputable. Furthermore, he knows how to save effort and with his experience he has a job.”
The signing of veteran Álvaro Negredo for Valladolid in the last winter market means that the contingent of European champions with Spain in the silver category has doubled. At first Santi Cazorla was alone, giving lessons in Oviedo at 39 years old. Now, Negredo, a year younger, also seeks to leave his mark with the Pucelano team. “Negredo is a pure center forward who I have known since I was a child. We brought him from Rayo to the Madrid youth team, and there in the Madrid youth team he has had his training process,” Vicente del Bosque recalls to LA NEW SPAIN.
The coach recruited the Vallecano for the 2012 Euro Cup, partly due to the injury of David Villa, who was absent. It seemed like he would have a secondary role, but he enjoyed his moment. It happened in the semifinal of that championship against Portugal, a duel in the face of a dog, locked, with few joys that ended up going to penalties. That night, Del Bosque surprised by lining up Negredo, in a position in which Fernando Torres and Cesc Fábregas had alternated until then, this one as a false nine. “Negredo is a typical striker, a good player who offered us solutions. He hits very well, especially with his left foot, and he is a player with a very good shot, ready in front of the goal,” Del Bosque defines him.
2024-02-23 14:12:53
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