Spanish coach Camacho calls up two new faces, drops Javi Moreno
Spanish national team coach Jose Antonio Camacho fulfilled his promise on Friday to spring a few surprises for the country's forthcoming pair of World Cup qualifying matches.
Spanish national team coach Jose Antonio Camacho fulfilled his promise on Friday to spring a few surprises for the country's forthcoming pair of World Cup qualifying matches.
Camacho included two uncapped midfielders in his 21-man squad, Valencia's David Albelda and Real Zaragoza's Jose Ignacio Saenz, while leaving out Milan striker Javi Moreno.
Spain play Austria at home in Valencia on September 1 before travelling to face Liechtenstein on September 5.
The two new faces were called up to take the place of Real Madrid's Ivan Helguera and Valencia's Ruben Baraja, who are both injured.
Moreno's absence is a major surprise as the hero of Alaves' campaign to reach the UEFA Cup final, before his summer move to Italy, had played in five of the last six Spanish internationals.
Camacho is also strongly in favour of players getting experience outside Spain. "I would recommend everyone to play abroad," said Camacho, in a recent magazine interview.
Less surprisingly, former Barcelona midfielder Pep Guardiola has also been left out.
Guardiola, with 46 caps to his name, played in Spain's last six matches but is currently without a club after finishing his contract at Barcelona and has spent more time on the golf course than a football pitch in recent months while considering his future.
Camacho also recalled Real Sociedad defender Augustin Aranzabal, who has been out in the cold for more than a year, and Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes, whose injuries and loss of form have restricted him to just one cap in the last 21 months.