New-look Spain show form on Andreu adiós
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Article summary
Spain laid down another marker ahead of January's UEFA European Futsal Championship finals in Hungary with a 7-0 friendly defeat of Guatemala in which Andreu won his 117th and final cap alongside three debutants.
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Spain laid down another marker ahead of January's UEFA European Futsal Championship finals in Hungary with a 7-0 friendly defeat of Guatemala in the 117th and final appearance of Andreu.
Honours
The Caja Segovia FS player, 34, helped Spain secure the 2005 and 2007 European titles and 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup, honours also won respectively in 2001 and 2000 by his twin brother Joan, with whom Andreu has combined effectively at club level, most notably in lifting the 2004 and 2006 UEFA Futsal Cups with Interviú Madrid. The fixture in Tomelloso also allowed Spain coach José Venancio López to experiment with his squad as leading clubs Interviú and ElPozo Murcia FS are currently involved in the league play-off final.
Debutants
With Andreu making his farewell early on, his long-standing squad-mate Javi Rodríguez put Spain ahead on seven minutes and it was 2-0 at the break through Hugo, making his debut along with César and Charlie. Manuel Aristondo put through an own goal early in the second half and Dani Salgado, Carlos, Hugo and Lin completed the scoring. A second game was to have been played in Tuesday in Alcazar de San Juan but heavy rain resulted in the entrance and passageways of the arena being flooded, meaning the game was called off for safety reasons.
Coach pleased
After Friday's game Venancio López, awaiting the draw for the European finals in Debrecen on 24 September, said: "I'm really pleased with the performance. They did well throughout the match. The game was played at a high pace and I also highlight the defensive play because the three debutants showed their ability to assimilate our tactics."
Emotional Andreu
Andreu said: "It was a very emotional farewell, playing with my team-mates for these last few minutes after 12 years. I thank to Venancio López for this opportunity, which I have dreamed of. I can say loud and clear that I have won everything with Spain. I'm very proud of what I achieved and experienced during these 12 years wearing the shirt of 'La Roja'."
