Vicente Del Bosque Plays Down Pedro Comments

 

Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque sees no reason to reprimand Pedro after the winger complained about having to sit on the bench at Euro 2016. The Chelsea forward has played less than 10 minutes in the tournament, his only appearance being as a late substitute in La Roja's opening 1-0 win over the Czech Republic.

In an interview with Movistar, the Chelsea forward said: “It is not worth me turning up just to be part of the group” but Del Bosque played down any suggestions of an unsettled camp as he prepared for their final Group D match against Croatia in Bordeaux with hopes of topping the group.

He said “What he has said, he did not disrespect anyone. I think his conscience got the better of him a little bit and he just showed a reality of what the 12 players who are not playing all feel, Pedro was a bit angry he is not playing, that is inevitable and can happen. We try to get on well with everyone and for everybody to be happy and comfortable. However, it is inevitable that in certain moments with those 12 players who are not playing there will be a bit of discrepancy, that is what happened and I don't think there is anything more to it than that. All the news here has been positive so when something negative comes out it is blown out proportion a bit, but I don't think it will have a lot of repercussions. I don't think we should be too hard on him, and in the 50-plus games he has been here with us, he has been a very correct player.”

Pedro, who joined the Blues from Barcelona last summer, is one of the most experienced players in the Spain squad, having won 58 caps and scored 17 goals since making his debut in May 2010 but he even hinted he could retire from international football after playing just eight minutes in one substitute appearance, saying: “I thought in this European Championship I could play more because I arrived in very good form. Evidently, it is very different. I had other ideas when I arrived here and they are not turning out how I expected. It is also difficult to continue being here because it is difficult to assume this role for me. If you don't play it isn't worth it coming just to make up the numbers, to be with your teammates, even though I am very comfortable here.”

The 28years old, who was part of the Spain squads that won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, later insisted he had not intended to criticise his coach, but he refused to retract his comments saying “I am not sorry exactly. If you asked me about my future in the national team, I would say the same again. I have spoken to Vicente, I have spoken to the players and they understand what I was saying, so I do not really understand while this has happened. I am very grateful to be here and be part of this team. I have been here for six years, I am not attacking the manager or other things that have been said. I assume the responsibility of what I have said. If I have to say sorry to someone because I haven't liked it, I will say it. Now the most important thing is to be calm. If I have annoyed anyone or made anyone disappointed, I am sorry, but I don't think it was such a big deal. I always want to be involved on the pitch, so I am going to keep working hard to try to play and be in the best possible shape to help the team.”