Spain bent on title

21/07/2003

SPAIN will stop at nothing to win the Champions Challenge gold medal, as
they crave to join the world's elite six hockey playing nations.
Unlike the rest of the five countries in Randburg, South Africa who want
the experience to prepare for the Olympics and World Cup, Spain are hungry
for the glitter of gold.
"We are not here for exposure, but to win the gold medal and rejoin the
elite six in the world. Our objectives are clear from the onset, and the
players know their mission," said coach Francisco Cortes.
The 6-2 hiding they handed England was a clear warning for the other
teams which harbour any hopes.
And though they lost 3-2 to South Korea yesterday, their aspirations
would appear to remain intact, given the open field at this stage of the
tournament.
On the European Championships, Cortes was more realistic: "It is our
dream to beat the best in Europe, but we will leave it at that.
Realistically, we are still far behind Germany and the Netherlands."
Before the Challenge, Spain played a series of matches against Germany,
the Netherlands, Argentina and India.
"Believe me, we got our butts kicked in most of the matches. But that is
the only way to improve, we need to play more matches against Champions
Trophy teams.
"The only way to get that exposure is to win the Challenge in South
Africa," said Cortes.
Spanish skipper Juan Escarre, 33, is still as fit as ever and rallied
his team-mates to play like champions.
"We have the best team available for the Challenge, and we had to leave
three more budding players back home because only 18 can be fielded here.'
(END)