Del Bosque still remembers Florentino Perez's "evil deeds" (Feature)

By Sebastian Fest Jun 24, 2009, 16:22 GMT

Bloemfontein, South Africa - The 'evil deeds' of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez remain an open wound in the heart of Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who stresses that great teams are 'not only made of great footballers.'

'Teams are not always made with the best footballers, but with other things,' Del Bosque noted in an interview with the German Press Agency dpa while at the Confederations Cup in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Perez sacked him as Real Madrid coach in June 2003, just hours after Del Bosque won La Liga for the second time in four years, to add to two editions of the Champions League and an Inter-Continental Cup, among others.

Del Bosque was replaced by the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, a younger man with a more modern, dynamic look. The current Spain coach cannot forget that Perez's entourage spoke of his 'old-fashioned' look to justify the sacking.

'That was one of the evil deeds that have hurt me the most, though I don't know whether it came from the president himself or from the court that surrounded him,' Del Bosque says with some sadness.

'But they did not stop there, they kept talking, talking in private. We are aware of the fact that they did.'

Del Bosque, 58, will almost not hear out the question when asked whether he thinks he is old-fashioned.

'No, because I have worked in youth categories for many years, that keeps you very up-to-date. Now it is impossible to be old-fashioned,' he claims. 'Earlier the information of what was being done in the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Russia, Germany or England was very costly, but now you have it every day.'

A Real Madrid player and coach almost throughout his career, Del Bosque denies that Perez ever admitted that sacking him was a mistake.

'No, no, no. And there is no reason why he should admit it either.'

In recent weeks - after his return to the Real Madrid presidency, to follow up on his 2000-2006 stint - Perez signed Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo for 94 million euros (131 million dollars) and Brazilian playmaker Kaka for 65 million euros (90 million dollars), to launch the second era of the 'galacticos.'

The first version of the 'galacticos,' at the start of the decade, featured three Ballons d'Or - Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo, - who were joined by David Beckham in an operation that had more to do with marketing than with football, although the English midfielder worked hard for the team.

Del Bosque has good memories of that group, which he still defines as 'very generous.'

'I think that those who are good players are generally also good people. We did not have any problems. I think during the time we were there we did not have to impose a single fine. There are issues that can be difficult to manage, but the truth is that we had the help of the players.'

The Real Madrid side around Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka is still set to be augmented by 'four or five players,' in the words of general manager Jorge Valdano.

In the six years after Del Bosque's sacking from Real Madrid, the club has had eight coaches and could only win two editions of La Liga, besides suffering repeated failures in the Champions League.

The Chilean Manuel Pellegrini is Real Madrid's new coach.

'I think he's a man of character and he will have the freedom to act alone. I wish him the best, I really like him. He has had an impeccable career in Spain, I think he is a gentleman, an ideal man for Real Madrid.'

Despite Barcelona's evident dominance and Real Madrid's high- profile signings, Del Bosque does not think that La Liga is just a matter of two teams.

'We will see in practice. In the 1970s and 1980s Barcelona signed the best players in the world, and it was always Real Madrid who won. The market opened, they signed (Johann) Cruyff and (Hugo) Sotil... In 1974 they won La Liga, and I was then at (Real Madrid) for 11 years as a player and they did not win a single championship beyond that.'

'There is having a good mentality, for example. It is not everything to have good players,' Del Bosque notes.

However, he is not about to turn good players down offhand.

'Well, it's better to have them!'