Kiev: Spain's triumphs at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup and their ability to make winning matches the routine rather than the exception has not dimmed the players' hunger for success, coach Vicente del Bosque said on Saturday.
Just over 24 hours before Spain defend their continental title against Italy in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev, Del Bosque said he and his team were determined to crown years of hard work with another major championship success.
"What this national team has achieved is already set in stone," he told a packed news conference at the Olympic Stadium in the Ukrainian capital.
"Successes can make you complacent but we have a group of players who know what this sport is and they have not lost one iota of competitiveness," the 61-year-old added.
"The younger players who have come in have filled the squad with fresh desire and we have maintained all our competitive spirit. That's very important for us."
Victory on Sunday would make Del Bosque only the second coach to win a European Championship and a World Cup, joining Helmut Schoen, who led Germany to victory at the 1972 European Championship and the World Cup two years later.
Del Bosque, a former Real Madrid coach, can also become the first manager to win a European Championship and a World Cup plus at club level a European Cup and an Intercontinental Cup.
"We want to set the seal on the work we have been doing in the Spanish soccer federation over many years," he said.
"We all want to end this cycle with a victory, but Italy has been improving throughout the tournament and are coming into the game on good form."
Two regulars in the Spain side in recent years have missed Euro 2012 due to injury, record scorer David Villa and centre back Carles Puyol, and Del Bosque said he was delighted the pair would be at Sunday's game to cheer on the team.
"It's a gift on their part and their mere presence will help us," he said.
"They have contributed a lot to the success of the group and they are making this effort in the middle of their recuperation. For sure they will help us lift the players."
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