Spain Talks about the past and present of Spain and Azulgrana

Xavi Hernandez recently sat down with MARCA in Doha and revealed how he has got along with his various national team bosses over the years.

The former Barcelona midfielder also spoke about the direction the Spanish national squad are heading, as well as its past and future.

How is Julen Lopetegui's Spain looking?

"I love and really enjoy watching them play, I don't feel they are any different from our side when I was involved but Julen is promising very good things. There seems to be more pressure applied on the opposition, as well as having a lot of the ball and attacking play, this current generation is very good."

"Marco Asensio is one of the best players that Spain have produced in the last ten years and with the likes of Sergio Ramos, David Silva, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets along with Pedro, Thiago, Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Morata and Isco, we have a great team."

Were you surprised by David Villa's call-up?

"No. He deserves it because he did not have a good ending to his international career. When we needed a goal he was always there to score for us. He's very fit and the best striker Spain has had for years. Lopetegui may receive some criticism for picking Villa, but I feel it's the right one as he still has the mentality of a 20-year-old."

Does this give a renewal message when it comes to being selected?

"I feel what Julen does is give out a message that whoever is fit and playing, even if it is in Dubai or the MLS, if you're in shape: then you are picked. On the contrary, Diego Costa is training alone whilst Villa is competing well over in the United States."

The Angel Maria Villar case, did it surprise you?

"I know everything that has happened, the deal with all the players has been very good and now we will see what justice does. If there has to be another president of the RFEF, I would like it to be Luis Rubiales as he is prepared and would fit perfectly in the position."

Does it now increase the magnitude of winning both Euros and the World Cup?

"As a footballer, I realised that the difficult thing is not to win but to keep winning. Because you always want to beat the best, and their rivals sense blood. In Brazil, I saw how we were going over the same routine even though we were almost the same team from four years before."

The Chile game marked a before and after in the national team?

"Already in Euro 2012 there were criticisms towards me, I commented before the final that I would like to be more important in the game and I told Vicente Del Bosque that I wanted to leave. But against Italy I had one of the best matches of my career and Vicente asked me to think about it and insisted that I stay. In the World Cup we lost the first game and although I was not the worst, against Chile I was left on the bench. I found this out in the last second of the team talk, an hour and a half before the game and I felt cheated."

"It was a very strong disappointment as he wanted to rest me before we played Australia. Del Bosque is a good-natured person, I have him on a pedestal but he failed me."

What did you learn from Luis Aragones?

"He's the person who made a change in my career, he was important for Barcelona, but not key. From minute one, Luis told me that I was the boss and that his back was on the line if I failed, then he failed. He recognized that he had been wrong to have left me out before and that he would not expose himself, he was a master at group management."

"He would say to me: 'You and ten Japanese, who care for me, that if you are, I am calm. You are not placed in the town hall'."

Your squad's achievements with Spain, are they unrepeatable?

"There has always been a good atmosphere because if there wasn't then we wouldn't have won anything. And I am sure that there also is now."

Despite the rows between Ramos and Gerard Pique?

"Most of the time spent with Spain is just a laugh, At midnight we would gather in Pepe Reina's room to drink milk with croissants, That's what I miss the most."

Do you mind about missing out on the Ballon d'Or?

"No, but the day before they called me and they told me that I won it, my friends organised a trip but when I got there I already realised. So when I came home I found my friends who looked like they were at a wake, it would have been unfair to Iniesta, Iker Casillas, Villa, Puyol, etc, who would have given it to me. It is a shame that there is no Ballon d'Or for a Spaniard of that successful time, as it was won by the best player in history, Lionel Messi."