Del Bosque: I will quit Spain after World Cup

Vicente del Bosque has revealed he will step down from his position as Spain coach after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.



The former Real Madrid boss has led his country to back-to-back tournament wins at the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 since his appointment in 2008.



But he says next year's competition in South America will be his last in the Spanish hotseat.

"My final responsibility as Spain national coach will be at the World Cup in Brazil next year," Del Bosque told Telam.



"Afterwards, maybe I will continue to work with the Spanish federation carrying out representative duties like this, travelling to different places and accepting invitations to public events."

Spain saw their status as world football's leading power threatened in midweek as La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid suffered heavy UEFA Champions League defeats to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively.



But Del Bosque insists this is no time for "pessimism" regarding the state of Spanish football.

"I do not believe that Germany is going to unseat Spain just because of these results," he said.



"We had three teams in the knockout rounds and now the two ties are still not decided. When that happens, we will speak. We should not get ahead of ourselves.



"It could be next week we have to take back what is being said at the moment.



"Nobody expected these results as Spanish football is in a privileged position. The first leg results were very bad.



"But, we have the best foreign players in our country and Spain has been leading the Fifa rankings for some years now. This shows we are in a good moment, and we cannot enter into pessimism just because of two games."

Ramos: The key to our success is unity

Real Madrid centre-back, Sergio Ramos is confident in his side’s chances in their crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier against France on Tuesday evening in Saint-Dennis, as he feels their unity is what makes them such a successful team.

In his pre-match press conference, Ramos spoke about their approach to Tuesday’s match and will not allow Friday’s 1-1 draw against Finland dictate their performance.



“We’ll have to wait to see who’s in France’s starting team. What’s taken us to success is our philosophy, and we can’t change that.



“We’re a great national team; we’ve proved it in El Calderón. We don’t need to change.



“The Spanish national team has many alternatives and they shouldn’t be noticeable. The other day, against Finland, we didn’t know how to finish it off. It doesn’t motivate us more. We always want to win, we would have like to add a victory, of course, but we’re professionals, we move on from the bad things and we always keep in mind that we want to win and that we want to transmit that feeling.”



“The defence or any other position does not affect anything. The key to our success is unity and group strength.



“Football doesn’t have a memory, you need to prove who you are on a daily basis, what happened yesterday is of no use. No one is going to change that we’ve won two European Cups and a World Cup, no one has ever done that, you don’t beat anyone because of a coat of arms, you win because of the excitement, and we’re on the ideal track.”



Ramos, who will earn his 101st cap against France, has insight into opponent, Real Madrid teammate, Karim Benzema.



“Knowing Benzema so well might benefit us in this game, undoubtedly he’s a great football player, and you can’t get distracted for a minute because he might score a goal.”



Ramos concluded by discussing the return of Xavi and the absense of captain and Real Madrid teammate, Iker Casillas.



“The captain’s words show values that Xavi and Iker represent. Xavi has made a huge effort to be here and Iker has travelled here. No one doubts that he’ll return soon.”

David Villa glad Tito's back at Camp Nou

Barcelona and Spanish international striker, David Villa is elated by the news that manager, Tito Vilanova is making is eagerly-anticipated return to the Blaugrana bench after undergoing two months of cancer treatment in New York.

In an interview with TVE, Villa discusses the return of Vilanova and is excited to see him back at work.



“We are excited to have him back with us as soon as possible with much improved health and overcome this hurdle in his life.”



Villa then discussed his own return to form after months of uncertainty following a devastating leg break in December 2011.



“I’m didn’t lose hope and took things day by day. I knew I had to recover well from this serious injury. All of the people around, supporting me directly or indirectly know who they are.”



One of those people who supported Villa was Spanish national team manager, Vicente del Bosque, who has put Spain’s all-time leading scorer back in the fold.

“It’s an honour for me; I have a lifetime of thanks to give him for the care he’s shown towards me.”



‘El Guaje’ then spoke about the national team and their upcoming match against France on Tuesday evening at Saint-Dennis.



“We have a defined playing style that we are not going to change. The style has given us slight scares like the other day [a 1-1 draw against Finland], but it’s also given us a lot of happiness and victories.



“This group has never changed. We are all very close going into a very difficult match.”

David Villa: 'We need to beat France'

Spain striker David Villa has insisted that his side will not play for a draw when they face France in Paris on Tuesday night.

style="border-radius: 25px 25px 25px 25px; border: 5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);" width="320" />The world champions fell two points behind France in Group I after they could only draw with Finland, but Villa has revealed that they will not need to change their approach now that they have fallen behind their group rivals.



The 31-year-old told reporters: "This is a very bad result for us and we did not expect to spill points here.



"However, this does not change our approach for the match in Paris. Regardless of the result of Friday's game, we had set our sights on three points against France.



"It is hard to grasp that we lost two points. We all realise that we have to bounce back right away and want to react against France."



The Barcelona striker has scored 53 goals for Spain.

Torres left out of Spain squad

Fernando Torres has been left out of the Spain squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Finland and France.

The 28-year-old Chelsea striker was omitted from recent friendlies against Panama and Uruguay but has made the squad for earlier World Cup qualifiers.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "Especially for strikers, inconsistency worries us and Fernando's inconsistency provoked a sense of insecurity in us."

Torres has scored 31 goals in 101 appearances for his country.

Golden Boot winner as top-scorer in Spain's victorious Euro 2012 campaign last summer, he has 17 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season.



But he has not found the net in the Premier League in 2013 and scored only his third goal in 20 games as Chelsea beat Steaua Bucharest in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.



Spain squad to play Finland and France:



Goalkeepers: Victor Valdes (Barcelona), Jose Reina (Liverpool), David de Gea (Man Utd)

Defenders: Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Jordi Alba (Barcelona)



Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Javi Garcia (Man City), Isco (Malaga)



Forwards : David Villa (Barcelona), David Silva (Man City), Pedro (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Chelsea), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Jesus Navas (Sevilla).