Aspas: "We aren't going to bury De Gea over one mistake"
The Celta Vigo forward described his Spain team as "one of the best goalkeepers in the world" despite his error against Portugal
Iago Aspas called for calm in the wake of the criticism David De Gea is receiving for his error against Portugal in their Group B opener. "Today is a new day. He's one of the best goalkeepers in the world and we'd only be making it difficult for ourselves if we put that in any doubt. It's unfair to ask for someone else to come in," said Aspas in an interview with Radio Marca.
Aspas made his World Cup debut when he came on for the last thirteen minutes against Portugal and it's something he will never forget. "I'm so happy. It's a shame about the result because we deserved a little bit more. I didn't think I would be here but it's given me the confidence to play in this World Cup," he added.
He also admitted that Spain deserved to beat the reigning European Champions. "If you take away the first fifteen minutes where we didn't play well, after that we were infinitely superior. They had two and a half chances and scored three goals." Although Aspas points out that it was "important not to lose" so they can keep their dream of "finishing first in the group" alive.
On the battle with Diego Costa to be Spain's number nine, he paid tribute to his teammate. "He had an incredible game. He helped us with those two goals, it gave us a push. He battled with all the defenders. I don't know if those goals opened him up more but it's going to help the team in the next few matches. After such a great game, it will be hard for anyone to replace him," Aspas said.
And finally he didn't hide his disappointment after Julen Lopetegui's exit. "It wasn't a good feeling but the Spanish FA had their motives and everyone needs to look at what's best for them. The coach always gave me a lot of confidence, from the first day to the last one he was here, and I'm very grateful. It was a shame but you have to put yourself in the place of others and everybody has a different opinion."
In closing he had some kinds words for the new coach Fernando Hierro. "He's a very capable person for the job. He was the sporting director and is the person who knows us most and was with us every day."
