Spanish soccer boss wants Spain to play Copa America
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The President of the Spanish Football Federation, Angel Maria Villar risks conflict with the country's clubs after announcing on Tuesday that he wants the Spanish national team to participate in this summer's Copa America.
The world champions have received an invitation to take part in the competition, which will be held between 1st and 24th of July in Argentina.
"We have received a proposal to play in the Copa America," confirmed Villar on a visit to Catalonia. Spain's late invitation has come as a result of Japan, who had been invited, withdrawing as a consequence of the earthquake which devastated the country in March.
Spain has close links with Latin America as a result of its colonial past and common language it shares with countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Chile among others.
"We have been invited several times in the past and it is something that Spanish football owes to South America," said Villar.
"I am in favor of Spain taking part in the tournament, it is something that we have to look at with affection, given the huge numbers of great South American footballers, who have played in Spain. I consider it a great honor to be invited and I will take the proposal to our Directors," he insisted.
Villar may be in favor of taking the Spanish national team to South America, but his proposal will be met with opposition from Spanish clubs, who would be alarmed at their key players running the risk of exhaustion.
Last year's World Cup meant that the Spanish internationals didn't start their holidays until July 12 and some are starting to look tired as this season comes to a close. If they played in the Copa America this summer, it is hard to see how they would be able to recover physically after a long season.
Meanwhile the summer of 2012 will see almost certainly see Spain play in the European Championship finals, meaning the country's top players would run a serious risk of burnout.
Spain's participation would also present logistical problems with the 2011-12 season due to kick off at the end of August, before the La Liga begins, the Spanish FA would also have to find dates for the Spanish Supercup (which will be played between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona), while other clubs would have European qualification matches to play.
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