Vicente del Bosque, the Spain coach, says the intense rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona has left "wounds" on the national team, which won the 2010 World Cup, that need to be healed.
The two clubs — who supplied the bulk of Spain's line-up at the tournament in South Africa last year — were involved in a series of spiky exchanges before their series of four matches in the space of 18 days in April and May.
Jose Mourinho, the Real coach, was handed a five-game ban by Uefa after he made allegations of favouritism towards Barcelona following Real's 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.
"We will have to heal the wounds as soon as possible. The clashes have left their mark because there are people who use the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry to divide and disengage," Del Bosque told a Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia.
"We will look for solutions, without abusing diplomacy. I hope all this mess with so many matches does not contaminate us too much because it would be a serious mistake.
"During a competition there sometimes is friction but you should never lose respect. If we want to be champions, if we want to continue on the path to success, we need to maintain a good atmosphere."
Del Bosque, who has led the national team since 2008, led Real to two Champions League titles and a pair of league championships before he was unceremoniously dismissed as coach in 2003.
Asked if he would ever return to Real, the 60 year old said: "No, never. Nothing would make me change my decision. I will not return to Madrid but I have to say that, as an institution, the club gave me everything and I don't feel they have a debt towards me."
Mourinho's appeal against the five-game ban will be heard on July 29. Barcelona went on to win the Champions League, beating Manchester United 3-1 at London's Wembley Stadium last month. They also won the Spanish Primera Liga.
"Barcelona really is at the moment one step above the rest," said Del Bosque.
"But I see teams out there that are also very strong and the moment will come when they can also lose. Barca have shown that they are better, but in football no one is invincible."
* Agence France-Presse
@ For more on SPAIN, visit thenational.ae/topics
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
