La Roja preoccupied by club fury

If the sporting world at large found April and May's clásico series between Real Madrid and Barcelona somewhat unsavory, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has more reason than most to pray that the upcoming Supercup double-header, and the league fixtures in December and April, are the extent of the encounters between the two warring institutions in a European Championship year.

Tempers frayed at Camp Nou and the Bernabéu during last season's La Liga and Champions League matches as a war of words at management level - that saw the normally austere Pep Guardiola fill the Real Madrid press room with expletives - spilled onto the fields of battle, fueled by José Mourinho's destructive tactics and the relish with which some of his players carried them out.

As Del Bosque convened the national squad in Madrid ahead of Wednesday's friendly match against Italy (8.45pm on TVE1), talk of a divided camp was once more to the fore. The withdrawals of Xavi and Sergio Ramos - agitators in chief when defending their club colors - from the squad raised eyebrows and both Spain captain Iker Casillas and Del Bosque were obliged to address off-field issues leading up to the match in Bari.

"If there wasn't a problem, it wouldn't have been talked about as much," conceded Del Bosque on Tuesday. "But I find it impossible that Casillas and Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso or Albiol and Piqué don't get along. They all stand up for their clubs but, in the national team, without union you cannot achieve good results. I'm sure we will continue on the right track."

"If we were playing for our lives, they would be here," added Casillas. "There is no doubt that every player wants to be in the Spain team. Ask the kids who are trying to break into the European and World Champions."

Certainly, the cusp upon which Spain stands should serve to smooth ruffled feathers from club encounters. Already the only European team to win the World Cup outside of the venerable continent, La Roja has the chance in Poland and Ukraine to become the first team to win three major tournaments in a row, a feat that would be even more remarkable taking into account the success of host nations down the ages. Germany won back-to-back European and World titles in 1972 and 1974, the latter in Munich; France matched that success in 1998 and 2000, winning the World Cup in Paris; England won at Wembley in 1966 and Portugal reached the European final in Lisbon in 2004. Denmark's sole triumph came on Swedish soil, in 1992.

If Spain manages to keep its bandwagon rolling in Kiev, Vienna will remain the nearest city to Madrid where it has lifted a trophy. Happily for Del Bosque, he can afford to be without the likes of Xavi and Ramos - and in this instance Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas and Joan Capdevila - at least for a friendly. Not that there is anything particularly amicable about a game against Italy.

"This is one of those games you always want to play in," said Iniesta. "I expect it to be an intense game, as it always is against Italy, and even more so because they're at home."

At the head of the queue of kids to which Casillas alluded is Barcelona midfielder Thiago, who scored a wonderful goal against Manchester United in pre-season. The son of Brazilian World Cup-winner Mazinho, Thiago's options remain open until he plays in an official game for either country. "It would be crazy to come to this squad and not come to the next one," he observed.

"We are going to try, if everything goes well, to give Thiago a game," said Del Bosque. "In Spain - and it's a problem for me - we have so many good midfielders with so much talent. Thiago is exceptional, and he plays for the team."