Spanish preparations overshadowed by Raul's absence

The controversy about the absence of the Real Madrid captain has dominated the Spanish sports media all week.

 Raul, 30, is second only to 1990s goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta in the list of all-time Spain appearances, having worn the wine-red shirt 104 times.

 However, he has not been picked by veteran manager Luis Aragones for a year now, since the 2-0 defeat away to Sweden which got Spain's Group F campaign off to a bad start.

 Aragones and Raul apparently got on badly at the 2006 World Cup finals, when the latter was kept on the subs' bench.

 Raul's absence for a year has annoyed the Madrid media, since his Real Madrid form has improved markedly.

 As expected, Raul was not on the squad announced by Aragones last week. However, the Madrid media were hoping that he would be called up when fellow striker David Villa was ruled out of the Denmark match with a twisted left ankle.

 After two days or rumours and speculation, Aragones announced that Villa's replacement would not be the Real captain but instead a different Raul, Tamudo of Espanyol.

 Aragones has been jeered at Spain's training camp in Madrid this week, by fans demanding the return of Raul Gonzalez.

 On Wednesday Aragones finally broke his silence, in an interview with the Spanish federation's press office, saying that "I could be making a mistake...but my reasons (for not picking Raul) are objective", but without clarifying what those reasons are.

 Aragones preferred to talk about Valencia defender Raul Albiol and Espanyol midfielder Albert Riera, the two newcomers in his squad.

 "I have been following their progress for months," he said, "and I am sure that they have got a lot to offer the team."

   The embattled Aragones concluded the interview by saying that "the external pressure is motivating me even more..I know that I must be more lucid than ever...I have lived through similar situations and I know how to put up with them. That is one of the advantages of experience."

   Spain are second in the group with 19 points from nine games, level on points with leaders Sweden.

 However, defeat in Aarhus on Saturday would leave Denmark just two points behind them - and with a game in hand.

 Newboy Riera told the media on Wednesday that "a draw there would be a good result, but we shouldn't think about that beforehand, we should go out thinking only about a win."

DPA