Source: Daily_Mail
Pete Jenson: Spain pay tribute to Vicente del Bosque with homecoming gig in Salamanca
Free beer was on offer out at Spain's international training camp this week. The sponsor of the national team had promised each player his weight in 4.8 per cent lager if they came home with the World Cup and they kept their word with a Wednesday lunchtime delivery just before the squad headed off for tonight's game with Lithuania.[LNB]Earlier, in a training session completely open to the public, Spain supporters had watched Xabi Alonso and company ping Jabulanis around their Las Rosas training pitch in Madrid.[LNB] Main man: Vicente del Bosque will enjoy an emotional return in Salamanca[LNB]Sorry, Sergio? Candidate for quote of the week from Spain's Sergio Ramos, trying not to underestimate Lithuania: 'We have to respect them because they have a lot of internationals playing for them.'[LNB]The ball everybody hated in South Africa did not seem to cause Spain too many problems during the tournament and it would be a shame to waste all that ethylene-vinyl acetate.[LNB]Tonight the world champions face Lithuania in their first qualifier on home soil since winning the World Cup.[LNB]They had the option of making a grandiose return at the Santiago Bernabeu in front of 80,000, but they've decided to play in front of just 18,000 at second division Salamanca's modest Helmantico Stadium instead.[LNB]Salamanca has not seen top flight football this century, but tonight it stages Spain's only competitive home fixture this year. The venue has been chosen by the Spanish football federation to honour coach Vicente del Bosque who was born and raised there.[LNB]Spanish press have bemoaned the second rate facilities amid claims when the door of the media centre was knocked on Thursday night it was opened by a woman in a dressing gown. But Spain are keeping it real despite being world number ones and the public of Salamanca filled the ground for for the final training session before the game such is the desire to honour the coach and his players.[LNB]The Spain manager, who picks up around £1.3million a year for coaching the national team - almost £5m less than Fabio Capello - may well have had his competitive homecoming at the Bernabeu had the club not flushed him out back in 2003 just after he had won them the league.[LNB]Del Bosque, who also won Real Madrid their last European Cup - at Hampden Park where they play Scotland on Tuesday - heard indirectly of his sacking from journalists, and then directly from Jorge Valdano the club's sporting director.[LNB]After winning two leagues and two Champions League he was fired in a corridor - summoned to the stadium and informed 'You will not be carrying on' before he could even take a seat. [LNB] Deadly: David Villa takes part in a training session in Las Rozas, near Madrid[LNB]The former Real Madrid midfielder who also played 19 times for his country, has never spoken bitterly over the way he was dumped after 36 years of service but has instead earned the respect of all Spanish football fans for his conduct both off and on the pitch. [LNB]This week the wristwatch he looked at nervously during the last 12 minutes of the World Cup final was auctioned for 24,000 euros with the money going to the Madrid Down's Syndrome Foundation. [LNB]The picture of his son Alvaro, who has Down's Syndrome, lifting the World Cup above his head during post-tournament celebrations will not be forgotten by supporters whose respect for Del Bosque as a doting father matches their feelings for him as a cool-headed coach. [LNB]Tonight the celebrations will continue pre-match with a presentation on the pitch before he takes his place in his hometown dug-out. [LNB]Spain are missing Fernando Torres, Xavi, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Jesus Navas but should have enough to beat Lithuania and providing it is business as usual on the pitch, then Del Bosque will probably let them make a start on getting through some of that sponsor's beer. [LNB] Johan Cruyff once said: 'There is nothing wrong with the long-ball game - just so long as the long ball in question ends up at the feet of the forward it was intended for.'[LNB] No-one manages that feat more frequently than Xabi Alonso. The 28-year-old will be bossing the Spain midfield tonight against Lithuania and on Tuesday against Scotland in what will be his first competitive return to the United Kingdom since leaving Liverpool. [LNB]He arrives at Hampden having just played perhaps his best game since leaving Anfield last August. The opposition last weekend, Deportivo de la Coruna, were weak, but the way Alonso ruthlessly orchestrated their destruction reminded Liverpool fans - as if they needed reminding as they watched their side lose to Blackpool - what they were missing. He ran the same 10km he runs every game - more than any other player. [LNB]He won the ball back 60 times, more thanevery other player on the pitch apart from full-back Sergio Ramos. And most predictably he played more passes than anyone else, 462. [LNB] Maestro: Xabi Alonso has emerged as a key player for Real Madrid[LNB]Twice he played killer 30metre balls that turned defence into attack in an instant and led directly to goals. His ball inside the full-back for the third goal was an early candidate for pass of the season - boxed in near the touchline in his own half he somehow found Gonzalo Higuain racing down the left wing with a pass that swerved out and back in like crown green bowl looking for the jack.[LNB]Mourinho's insistence on a more direct style is not a problem for Alonso, and wouldn't even upset a purist like Cruyff when it's being played with such pinpoint accuracy.[LNB]'Spain has a different style with more touches on the ball. Madrid plays more direct football, but each has its own merits,' Alonso said this week. Spain will be missing Barcelona's Xavi tonight. [LNB]After playing 287 games in the last four seasons, he has admitted his body is at breaking point and will rest his sore Achilles, also missing the match in Scotland. [LNB]Xavi is referred to as the 'Brain' of the Spain team but with World Cup, European Cup and European Championship winner Xabi in this kind of form, it might hard noticing the difference. Game in Spain - Pete Jenson's new column: No-one likes Real, says JoseRead Matt Fortune's world football blog on the latest news beyond these shores[LNB] Explore more:People: Xabi Alonso, Fabio Capello, Johan Cruyff, Sergio Ramos, Xavi, Fernando Torres Places: Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Spain, Scotland, Lithuania, United Kingdom, South Africa