day 44 – let’s do this

Before we begin, it’s July 7 today, which means… ¡Felices Sanfermines!  To celebrate, a very, very cute video of the three navarros of the national team, Javi Martínez, Fernando Llorente (born in Pamplona, with family from Navarra) and chef Javier Arbizu, all with their red kerchiefs.  My favorite part was Javier Arbizu talking about doing the running of the bulls at 18 with his “cuerpo serrano”!  And either Javier is really, really small, or Javi and Fernando are giants!

July 6, 2010.

Spain arrived in Durban in the morning.  Cesc went directly from the airplane to the hospital, to have his right fibula checked out after hurting it in Monday’s training session.  The test results showed that the area was injured, with a deep bruise, but there was no injury to the bone, so he’s not ruled out for the game against Germany, although he’s listed as “doubtful.”  Cesc is in pain, and the team will see how he’s feeling today before deciding whether he will play or not.  FYI:  this is the same bone that he fractured three months ago in the Champions League quarterfinals game between Arsenal and Barcelona.

Thus, Cesc wore a special orange vest during the training session in the Princess Magogo Stadium to remind his teammates that he’s injured and to be careful around him (we’re all looking at you, Fernando Llorente).  The other injured player, Raúl Albiol, trained apart from the team and continued to work on getting better.

It looks like Spain will repeat the same starting line-up for the fourth consecutive game, a first in the history of the national team.  So expect to see Iker, Sergio, Piqué (and his tongue), Puyol, Capdevila, Busquets, Xabi, Xavi, Iniesta, Villa and Torres start tonight.

The very articulate Xabi, along with Andrés Iniesta, spoke to the press.  The former talked about how the team has to take advantage of this opportunity, although he also spoke with respect about Germany.  He added that it has not been decided who will shoot the penalty should the occasion arise – “we’ll talk about it as we go along or during the game itself.”  Meanwhile, Iniesta agreed with his teammate that the opportunity is unique: “we want the game to start to be able to take the team to the final… we want to lift up the World Cup.”

Keep reading for more news, interviews, videos!

Meanwhile, back in Madrid, the RFEF has chosen the site for the theoretical celebration should Spain bring home the World Cup.  This year, it won’t be at the Plaza de Colón on Castellana, but rather a bit further to the southwest at Príncipe Pío.  Although it’s not in the center of the city, it’s easy to get to, since there are three metro lines that stop at the Príncipe Pío station and two cercanías.

The RFEF is also studying the possibility of inviting several famous Spanish athletes to the game(s).  Their intention was to bring Pau Gasol, but he has a packed schedule.  Other names being mentioned are some familiar and beloved names:  Rubén de la Red, Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna, Diego López, Dani Güiza, as well as the bullfighters Alejandro Talavante and El Juli.

Who will be there for sure are the families of several of Vicente del Bosque’s assistants, as well as those of Iker Casillas, Jesús Navas and Carlos Marchena.  David Villa has also said that his two daughters have traveled to South Africa and will be cheering their daddy and his teammates on.  The parents of Javi Martínez and Gerard Piqué have been here for a while.

Interviews/articles/videos round-up of the day:

– Sergio Busquets talks to Radio Federación – listen here.  As does Villa – listen here.

– Iker talks to ABC – read it here.

– Cuatro interviews Cesc – watch it here.

– Cuatro also looks at the Piqué-Puyol pairing here.

– an article about Pedro – read it here.  His mother thinks Pep Guardiola is a god.  It also says some nice things about Pep.

– and an article about Xavi – read it here.  Warning: it must be Xavi’s favorite type of interview because it’s very technical and football-centric.  The only thing of note in case you get bored easily – Xavi says he probably “won’t make it to Brazil [for the 2014 World Cup].  I’ll be old.  But I assure you, as long as this team wants me to go, I’ll go.”

Does my vote count?  I’ll go on the record right now and say that I want him to be in Brazil.