At last the day had arrived. Thousands of fans gathered at La Rosaleda stadium waiting for the doors to open. The occasion deserved it. The Spanish National Team was back in Málaga after five years. Nobody wanted to miss it.
The stands at the Blue and Whites’ stadium shook with excitement as Julen Lopetegui’s men stepped on to the pitch. “España! España! España!”, rang through the crowd during their team’s training session ahead of the friendly against Costa Rica.
Before the session, Lopetegui, Isco and Jordi Alba appeared before the media in the ‘Juan Cortés’ press room at a Rosaleda stadium. “We’re delighted with this atmosphere, this expectation and this excitement. It really motivates us, we love it. What we need to do tomorrow is return this expectation and affection with good football, intensity, strong mentality and by playing a great match”, says the ‘La Roja’ coach.
One of the main stars of the afternoon was Isco Alarcón: “Tomorrow is going to be a very special match. We’re playing at my home, in my city where I was born. It’s going to be a great game, very tough, but also very special”.
