After the team’s World Cup nightmare in Brazil when Spain crashed out of the competition in the group stage, the players returned home following Monday’s 2-0 defeat to Italy in the last 16.
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Del Bosque tried to put on a courageous face following the defeat when asked about his future, saying he would speak to Spanish football federation president Angel Maria Villar about his decision.
The Azzurri beat Spain 2-0 with goals from Giogio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle to ensure Italy progressed to play the World Champions Germany in the quarter final.
Spain pushed on for an equaliser and came close several times, most stunningly through Andres Iniesta, who forced a strong save from Gianluigi Buffon with a thunderous shot from outside the box.
Buffon also made another impressive save in the 90th minute when he managed to get down and save Gerard Pique’s close-range strike.
Conte has been praised a lot thanks to his solid work defensively, keeping attacking maintained teams like Belgium and Spain away from the Italians’ goal and denying them of scoring even once. A goal in each half from Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle sealed Italy’s fate for the night.
De Gea had been much-criticized for his performance as Spain’s 15-game unbeaten run in the Euros came to an end on Tuesday with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia which cost them top spot in Group D.
Spain, who had won the previous two European titles, were comprehensively snuffed out, barely posing a threat until the closing stages of the game.
“We have to accept the disappointment”.
“We need the players to be 130 per cent against Germany”, said Conte.
“We have to be realistic, we don’t have the same level as when we were world and European champions”, said Barcelona defender Pique.
Sometimes the opponent is better, but its not because we have played without enough hunger, he said.
The two sides will meet again as early as October in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
However, Pique defended the right of coach Vicente del Bosque to take time to decide his future despite the latest failure.
But this end against Italy, because it was so unequivocal, marked the beginning of a new era. That proved to be the case, but we didn’t just focus on defending.
Caparros has in recent months turned down offers from Real Betis, Valencia and most recently newly-promoted Alaves as he has his heart set on the national team and has been recommended by Del Bosque, a former Real Madrid colleague.
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“Since I took over, right from the start I said the only way we could achieve a semblance of success is to try and be a like a club team”, said Conte. By weighing on the Spanish defense, they pinned back Sergio Busquets and made Spanish minds think twice about venturing forward. They have some wonderful players, Conte said through a translator. Spain were second best from the start against an Italy side, who were better organised, more effective on the ball and ruthless in every department.
