Rubiales: "Favorite? I can't say anything other than Spain"

"Every time I talk to Luis Enrique he conveys his ambition to fight for the best", revealed the president of the RFEF

MADRID, 15 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, places the Spanish team as one of the favorites to win the next World Cup in Qatar 2022, which will be held from November 20 to December 18, because if not he would "betray himself" and revealed that the national coach, Luis Enrique Martínez, transmits his ambition to "fight for the best".

"Favorite? I can't say any other than Spain, it would betray me. There are magnificent teams, three or four sensational European teams, two of a high level in Latin America... Those of us who have been in this for many years know that there are six or seven teams that they can be world champions. Spain can be one of them", he stated in the announcement of the RFEF's adhesion to the UN's 'Football for the Goals' initiative.

In this sense, the president of the RFEF confessed the impressions shared by both the coach Luis Enrique and the sports director of the RFEF, José Francisco Molina. "What Luis Enrique, Molina and the players transmit to me is a great ambition to fight for the best. It is very difficult to win a World Cup, we have achieved it only once, but we are going with a good team and we are going to try. It transmits to me absolute conviction and transmits it to the footballers," he stressed.

On the other hand, Luis Rubiales joked with the fact that Luis Enrique has become a 'streamer'. "At the moment, he is a fake streamer because he has only posted one video. If the coach goes with the maximum ambition, from the federation we set ourselves the maximum ambition, knowing that in sport anyone can beat you in a match. I go with great expectations , to enjoy Qatar and hopefully we will make the whole country feel proud. It is very difficult to be champions, but we are going to go all out to be champions", he reiterated.

About the future of the national coach after the World Cup, Rubiales reiterated that they will sit down with the coach at the end of it to decide whether or not to continue. "Nothing has changed in this. Molina, Luis and I had a meeting some time ago and we reached an agreement that the day after the World Cup ended we would talk. Hopefully we will come on the 20th and sit down to talk," he recalled.

Regardless of the decision, the person in charge of the RFEF was shown, whether or not he continues in office, "grateful" for having a "world top" coach who has rejected offers for much more money for being a coach.

"He has dared with players who are now realities and has combined, with his style of play, a team that blindly believes in him. We go with happiness and high expectations, without giving up anything. That then football has something negative in store for us We will take it," he said.

In his opinion, the "great leader" of a team and locker room "has to be the coach." "We also have important players who know how to paddle and implement the coach's ideas on the field. There are silent leaders and others who are more proactive. The leader must be the coach and we have that here," he stressed.

In the RFEF there is "calm", "tranquility" and "expectation" for the World Cup. "We are used to there being a big stir. I know how I have acted on the floor, there may be a smear campaign trying to find big headlines that undermine my image and that of the federation. I am calm and strong. I trust in justice" , he pointed.

For Rubiales, football has to serve to "dignify people" and he confessed to feeling "annoyed" because this "media noise created in a fictitious way" affects them when the RFEF tries to close an agreement with the UN or with a sponsor.

"On the subject of the Super Cup I am not going to contribute to breaking the secrecy of the summary. I am calm, but outraged by those leaks from you know who in an illegal way. I am looking forward to getting on the plane, that the team trains and we play good friendlies", Indian.