ALBACETE // The Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas has played down his angry reaction to being substituted against Bosnia-Herzegovina during his side's World Cup qualifying victory on Saturday. The Spain coach coach Vicente del Bosque, whose team host Armenia tomorrow, replaced the Arsenal player with Xabi Alonso in the 65th minute of the encounter, not long after the his pinpoint through-ball had helped David Villa net the only goal of the game in Murcia.
And though he admits he was not best pleased by the switch, Fabregas, 21, insists he has nothing to apologise for, saying: "The day that they replace me and I'm not angry I will leave football. "It's normal that you think like that when you've been taken off. It's not a lack of respect for anybody for wanting to be a better player every day. "The most important thing is that we won and that we've started the qualification phase with three points. We had it tough to break down their defence, but we did it."
Fabregas, who has made 33 appearances for his country but only played in five full matches, added: "They always change me when we are winning. This suggests that I need to be better in defence to be a more complete midfielder. "I want to improve, to be a complete midfielder and show to everyone that I can play in both positions, as much in attack as defence." Meanwhile, Fabregas's fellow midfielder Andres Iniesta is hoping to see the European champions put on a good show against Armenia in his home town Albacete.
"On Wednesday there is every incentive to have a good game," he said. "I think it was a good game [against Bosnia-Herzegovina]. In the second half we played a faster game, we created quite a few chances and scored a goal." * Reuters