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| Disappointed spain players after a 1-1 draw against Italy. |
Spain have complained about the state of the pitch they played out a 1-1 draw with Italy on last night.
La Furia Roja are unhappy that the surface was bone dry, a factor they believe stymied their crisp passing style.
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque is a man of few words, so when he talks people listen.
And unbidden, last night he expressed dissatisfaction with the pitch in Gdansk.
"It is a pity to play on a dry pitch. For us, for Italy and for the fans. I am sure we would have seen a better game if the pitch had not been so dry," he said.
Spain’s goalscorer Cesc Fabregas was less diplomatic.
"The pitch is a disaster. It's lamentable to play on a pitch like that," he fumed. "I can't complain but we deserved a lot more. It's lamentable that we still have to play on pitches like that."
While midfield conductor Xavi Hernandez explained: "The fact they didn't water the pitch affected us and our passing." And Andres Iniesta added: "To see the pitch in this condition was a disaster. It was super dry and that makes passing the ball difficult."
Italy, who were happy to have surprised the defending champions by taking the lead and refusing to surrender, were not wont to criticise the surface.
"It is the same for both teams," Andrea Pirlo said.
The chief of the Polish FA, Grzegorz Lato, has rejected Spain’s misgivings about the pitch outright.
"What nonsense! The grass was the perfect length," Lato told Polish radio station TOK FM.
"The thing is that often one waters the pitch for the game. But you need agreement from the two teams. The Spanish wanted it to be watered, the Italians did not agree.
"[Italy] know that the pitch being slower - because on a watered pitch the ball slides a lot and will move a lot faster - is the better tactical option for Italy.
"If there isn't agreement (from both sides), it doesn't make any difference that at Barcelona and Real Madrid they water the pitch two hours before the game." SoccerLaduma
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