Bora Milutinovic, the only man to coach five different teams at the FIFA World Cup, has said he believed Spain's time had come to dominate world football.
The veteran Serb, now in charge of Iraq, said the current generation of Spanish players was one of the best he had seen. "They have a great generation of players like Brazil in the 1970s and France in the 1990s. Now is the time of Spain," he said ahead of Iraq's showdown with Spain at the FIFA Confederations Cup here Wednesday. "They play a beautiful game with outstanding performers.
"Spain has always had excellent players and competitive teams but it seems that the results are starting to come for them," he added. "They are spectacular and they seem to be enjoying playing the game, which, for me is very important and one of the reasons why they are doing so well."
Spain go into Wednesday's match looking to equal the record for the longest winning run by a national team, giving them an extra incentive to beat Iraq. The record of 14 straight victories is jointly held by Brazil and France and the European champions have a great chance of not just matching it but going one better, with South Africa next up after Iraq.
Following the emphatic way they dispatched New Zealand 5-0 in their tournament opener on Sunday, few would bet against Vicente del Bosque's men achieving the feat, as well as matching Brazil's world record unbeaten run. The Brazilians put together 35 matches without defeat between 1993 and 1996 and Spain are currently on 33, stretching back to November 2006 when they lost 1-0 in a friendly against Romania.
Despite praising Spain, Milutinovic, whose side took a point off South Africa in their opener, said he was confident his team could get a result against them. "Iraq must not be afraid, this is one of the biggest challenges for us," he said. "We are lucky to here, lucky to be playing Spain. I will be happy to play a negative game and get a point."
Milutinovic led hosts Mexico at the FIFA World Cup in 1986, then Costa Rica in 1990, the United States in 1994, Nigeria in 1998, and China in 2002.
Source: AfricanSoccerUnion.com
Also in the news
Yobo, Utaka may miss Tunisia cracker
By Christian OkparaTHE Super Eagles may battle Tunisia this weekend without two of their most experienced players, Joseph Yobo and John Utaka, following their inability to team up with their mates at the Malta training camp.
Both players and goalkeeper Dele Aiyenugba, as well as assistant coach Daniel Amokachi could not travel with the rest of the team to Malta on Sunday following their inability to secure visas to the tiny European country. Yobo, who is the team's vice captain, was expected to shore up the defence with his experience as the coaches expect the match to be more difficult than the previous two qualifiers - against Mozambique and Kenya.
Utaka was not actually expected to feature in the game due to his dwindling form, but the coaches wanted him in camp to also lend his experience to the younger players. Rather than wait endlessly for the documents, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday resolved that the players should travel directly to Tunisia to await the arrival of the rest of the squad.
Prospective visitors to Malta collect their entry visas to that country from the Austrian Embassy because the European nation has no consulate in Nigeria. Yobo and Utaka are two of the most experienced players in the team, having featured in the 2002 World Cup. Coach Shaibu Amodu and 23 players have been sweating it out in Malta since Monday evening, perfecting tactical and technical strategies for the must-win qualifier against Tunisia's Carthage Eagles at the November 7 Stadium in Rades.
According to the NFF Media Officer, Ademola Olajire, "as at Tuesday (yesterday) evening, NFF protocol officials were making efforts to get the players and coach Amokachi on the Emirates flight to Dubai on Wednesday (today), from where they will connect Tunis on Thursday morning and arrive in the afternoon. This would be about the same time their colleagues would be arriving from Malta.
"Already, NFF technical committee chairman, Taiwo Ogunjobi, and head of international competitions, Bola Oyeyode, are on ground in Tunis to smoothen all arrangements for the team."
The players in the Malta camp are goalkeepers Vincent Enyeama and Austin Ejide, defenders Taye Taiwo, Elderson Echiejile, Yusuf Mohammed, Olubayo Adefemi, Onyekachi Apam, Sam Sodje, Ayodele Adeleye, Obinna Nwaneri and Danny Shittu.
The midfielders are Nwankwo Kanu, Olufemi Ajilore, Sani Kaita, Oluwaseyi Olofinjana, Mikel Obi, Kalu Uche and Dickson Etuhu, while Obinna Nsofor, Joseph Akpala, Ikechukwu Uche, Osaze Odemwingie and Michael Eneramo are the strikers in the camp.
Source: The Guardian
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