Spain must set higher sights for Euro 2004

Spain are as strong as any of the teams they will face at Euro 2004 but need to set their sights higher than they have in the past, Deportivo Coruna striker Albert Luque said on Saturday.

"We will go out on to the pitch the equal of the other teams but we have to show that we are an ambitious squad," the Catalan told a news conference at the team's training base on the outskirts of Madrid.

He shrugged aside concerns that the Spaniards, who tumbled out of the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals against South Korea, would suffer a similar fate in their own backyard.

Spain have traditionally eased through the qualification phases for major championships only to lose their spark once the tournaments have begun.

"More than 50 percent of this team was at the World Cup, on the point of making it through the quarter-finals. For strange reasons they didn't, but in Euro 2004, they will achieve it," agency Europa press quoted Luque saying.

Coach Inaki Saez has picked an experienced but conservative squad for the tournament, which starts on June 12. Spain have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Portugal, Russia and Greece.

Spain have won the European championship only once, in 1964, and Real Madrid defender Michel Salgado says the team need to build self-confidence and stay calm to win high-pressure matches.

"We need to make the final step, which teams like Italy and Germany have done, competitive squads which, at the moment of truth, do not fail," Salgado said.

"We have deserved a lot more in the past, but we do not need to be anxious. The key is to have these days (of training) to work with the team...step by step and without worrying,"

He added that, although Spain were not pre-tournament favourites, the squad was a strong alternative to fancied sides like France, Germany and Italy.

Salgado and Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol said the week-long training camp had been vital for the players to put aside club loyalties and start bonding as a squad.

"We are keen to start Euro 2004, but these days are going to be very important to disconnect from our respective teams, work together and get to know each other better," Puyol said.

Spain will play a final warm-up match against Andorra in Getafe on June 5, before heading to Portugal on June 6 to set up their base near the northern town of Braga.