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Spain coach Luis Enrique missed the opening minutes of the World Cup qualifier against Kosovo after being trapped in an elevator.
Luis Enrique and several of his assistants were trapped in an elevator at the team’s hotel for an hour before being rescued.
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They arrived at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville moments after the start of the match and traveled by car as the team bus carrying the players had left.
However, the incident had little impact on the team’s performance, as Spain clinched the 3-1 win thanks to goals from forwards Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Gerard Moreno to top Group B with seven points.
“We had a plan B and my staff was going to take over the game for him. It wouldn’t have made a big difference if he hadn’t done it,” Luis Enrique said.
Luis Enrique faced a race against time to make the match of Spain against Kosovo. Photo by Mateo Villalba / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
The coach faced a major headache when explaining why he had started without captain Sergio Ramos and only signed him in the 86th minute.
Ramos had recently returned to action after undergoing knee surgery in January and missed Real Madrid’s last game before the international break.
The 35-year-old played the first 45 minutes of last week’s 1-1 draw with Greece and then stayed on the bench in Sunday’s 2-1 victory in Georgia.
“He did not play because I made a technical decision, he has no problem but I decide who plays. Ramos is fine, but he has just returned from a serious injury and I decided that other players should play in his place,” said Luis Enrique. .
“His attitude is exemplary. The true leaders are those who make a great contribution even from the bench.”
Source: espn.co.uk
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