Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas Could Lose Spot In Spanish Team

Vicente Del Bosque – Flickr Creative Commons

Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque has sounded out a warning to Chelsea pair Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas. Del Bosque left Costa out of the squad during this international break in an effort to avoid confrontation, while Fabregas was called up, but returned to London after assessments showed that he had a muscle problem.

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Both Del Bosque and Spanish defender Sergio Ramos spoke on the issue a few days ago, the manager said that he had to trust the player in such a case, while Ramos questioned the commitment of both Costa and Fabregas.

Ramos would later deny questioning his teammates’ loyalty.

"“I underlined the commitment that there should be in the national team, not that the two of them don’t have it, far from it.” Source: Espnfc.com"

It appears that the issue is still being talked about in the Spain camp; Del Bosque has again come out to speak on the matter. At a press conference today, he stated that the two players may find that their spots are unavailable on Spain’s next outing, as the void may be filled by players who perform well during their absence.

"“As I have said, when a player who comes to us plays well, others that want to get into the team will find it more difficult.“If I say that Diego Costa and Cesc may find it hard to play I’m not threatening any sort of revenge or reprisal against anybody, it merely reflects a truth about football that we all know. If someone doesn’t play and his replacement does well, the other player has to do better to get into the team. But nobody is ruled out.”Source: Espnfc.com"

Call it what you want Del Bosque, but that does sound a bit threatening. The fact that the manager felt the need to come out and say this, is somewhat spiteful. Like he pointed out, it is general knowledge that if a player fills in for another with a great performance, he is likely to keep that spot, but why say it?

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It is plain as day, that was a clear warning from the head coach. Avoid International duty at your own risk.

As a result of all the controversy, the Spanish Football Federation has made the decision to enforce FIFA protocols, and will not be accepting medical reports given over the phone. All players who are said to be injured will have to travel to Spain to be assessed; if the findings are found wanting, FIFA would then have to step in.

The federation has every right to feel hard done by, as both Costa and Fabregas featured in Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Liverpool, but could not play for Spain. I can’t blame Jose Mourinho either, Costa was forced to sit four matches out as a result of his last call-up from the national side.

Players have to be protected by the clubs who pay their wages, especially clubs who are on course to win a league and cannot afford to lose their best men.