Spain boss Vicente Del Bosque said he is delighted that his side were drawn to face Scotland because he has been a winner at Hampden in the past. Del Bosque was in charge at Real Madrid when they won the Champions League at Scotland’s national stadium in 2002.
The manager said he had fond memories of that night in Glasgow and looked forward to sampling the atmosphere at Hampden again. Real Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to lift that year’s Champions League trophy with a stunning volley from Zinedine Zidane sealing the win.
“It’s not every day that you win the Champions League so Hampden will always have a special place in my heart,” Del Bosque said.
Del Bosque left Madrid a year later and, after a spell in charge at Besiktas, succeeded Luis Aragones as manager of the European champions. He led Spain through a flawless qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup, winning ten out of ten games, and his side are among the favourites to lift the trophy in South Africa.
Spain could be World and European champions by the time they travel to Glasgow and will represent the toughest challenge of new Scotland manager Craig Levein’s career. The date for the fixture will be agreed along with the rest of the qualification schedule after a meeting in Madrid on February 14.
The sides last met in 2004 in a friendly in Spain and were drawing 1-1 before the match was abandoned. A Ruben Baraja own goal had put Scotland a goal ahead before Raul equalised from the penalty spot but torrential rain led to the game being called to a halt just after the hour mark.
Del Bosque said it had been too long since the sides met and that he was looking forward to the match.
“I’m delighted to be facing Scotland and my players will feel the same,” he added.
“Our countries haven’t played for a long time and the atmosphere in Glasgow will be terrific.”
