Spanish National Team coach Vicente Del Bosque spoke with the press Tuesday about his team's upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The new Spain boss said his team fully respects their Turkish opponents and knows the challenge that awaits them this weekend. Del Bosque also talked about the inclusion of Fenerbahçe striker Dani Güiza and why he chose the struggling star in his current squad.

Vicente Del Bosque told Spanish TV network Veo7 Tuesday that his squad will have to battle if they are going to advance to the 2010 World Cup. Despite being the reigning European champions, the coach said his team takes nothing for granted. He also said his team respects the challenge they'll be presented by the Turks.

"Turkish football is in a constant uprise," Del Bosque said. "The footballers are like soldiers when it comes to the Milli Takım, and the nation is deeply connected to their teams. As a national team, they have a strong character and are very competitive. They are 11th in the FIFA world rankings currently and are 4th in Europe," he said.

Del Bosque stopped short of calling the Turks a threat to win the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The new Spanish boss said Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and England are the most likely candidates to take home the trophy next summer.

The Spanish National Team coach said his side would be thrilled with a win and a draw against the Turks in their two upcoming meetings. "Of course four points is a good result," he said when asked about the scenario. Del Bosque commented that four points from the next two matches would almost certainly move them through to qualification.

Spain will be without Barcelona stars Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol this weekend, something that concerns Del Bosque. "I hope we won't be affected by their absence. One thing is for sure, we might feel their absence when trying to get past a strong and dangerous team like Türkiye."

Del Bosque also defended his inclusion of striker Dani Güiza. The striker led La Liga in scoring last season with Mallorca, but the current Fenerbahçe star has struggled to find his form in Turkish football. "He played well against Bursaspor. His finishing touches are fine and he scored a typical goal, just on the border of an offside. Some say i picked him to help him out, but no, we picked him because of his footballing values," he said. "He completes the team, with Llorente, Torres and Villa. He helped us out against Belgium and he's an important member of the Spanish National Team."

Spain's new boss also talked about his predecessor, current Fenerbahçe coach Luis Aragones, who led the team to the Euro 2008 crown. "First of all, as a footballer and a coach he was one of my idols. He was an example for all of us. We're not in the same generation, but we've always been interacting with each other," Del Bosque said.

(fenerbahceworldwide)

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The Milli Takım completed their first training Tuesday to prepare for their upcoming clash against Spain. The team is in Madrid and training at the Real Madrid practice facilities this week. Coach Fatih Terim said his team is facing a number of issues that has him concerned headed into Saturday's match.

Terim spoke with reporters Tuesday following the team's first training session to prepare for Spain. He stated that the squad is facing a number of injury concerns prior to the match. Villareal star Nihat Kahveci is recovering from injury, while Gökhan Ünal and Fenerbahçe star Gökhan Gönül are both dealing with minor injury issues. Bayern Munich star Hamit Altıntop was also ruled out of this weekend's match on Tuesday.

Terim also said his team has some psychological concerns related to club teams dealing with poor results this season. The Turkish boss said he's developed two different squads for this weekend based on injury concerns and player development.

"There are two legs to be played against Spain and all the points we can add up are important," Terim told reporters on Tuesday. "We don't have fear in our dictionary. We deleted the word from our dictionaries many years ago. We will never go out on the field in fear; even if we lose we won't hold back," he said.

Terim also told reporters that while he's confident about his team's chances, their qualification hopes aren't hinging solely on the next two results. "Worst case scenario, even if we lose both matches against Spain, we won't have lost our chance to go to the finals. We will win our next four matches and take the Türk Milli Takımı to where it deserves to go," he said.

The coach is also excited about the atmosphere for this weekend's match. "It will be a historical moment. Not everyone gets to play at the Santiago Bernebau Stadium."

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Captain Alex de Souza's injury has left Spanish coach Luis Aragones pondering about his starting eleven for this week's Bursaspor match. Papers have begun listing the Fener boss' alternatives. It looks as if Luis Aragones may even start with two forwards, Dani Güiza & Semih Şentürk.

Fenerbahçe's no. 10 Alexsandro de Souza is undoubtedly an indispensable player for the Yellow Canaries squad as he has scored more than a hundred of goals for the club. But the Brazilian playmaker's injury against Kocaelispor last weekend will definitely leave him out for this weekend's match and possibly make him miss the following week's action too.

Alex's injury thus forces Luis Aragones to change his tactical formation. The sports press in Turkey have begun elaborating different alternatives for the Spanish coach. There's almost a unanimous decision concerning the strikeforce in the starting eleven.

It was constantly written that it's almost impossible to field two strikers in front of an Alex de Souza playing in the AMC (attacking midfielder - centre) position. However, without Alex in the squad Hürriyet, Vatan and Lig TV have wrote that Luis Aragones is very likely to field both Dani Güiza & Semih Şentürk in his starting eleven against Bursaspor.

On the other hand, Hürriyet also writes that if Deivid de Souza recovers in time for Friday evening's fixture, then he's the one most likely to replace the Fenerbahçe captain, and thus not Dani Güiza. Vatan in the meantime predicts that the Spanish coach will most definitely field Gökhan Emreciksin on the right flank, instead of Colin Kazım-Richards who he fielded last weekend.

According to Hürriyet and Vatan, both Emre Belözoğlu and Deniz Barış's places are almost certain in the starting eleven, forcing newly recovered Selçuk Şahin to sit on the bench. Meanwhile, Lig TV also puts forth the option of fielding Emre Belözoğlu in Alex de Souza's position.

No one knows for sure who Luis Aragones will field on Friday night, not even Aragones himself. But one thing's for sure, the Spanish coach has got a lot of thinking to do as the Bursaspor fixture approaches.

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