Borja Valero may be enjoying another good season for Fiorentina, but he doesn’t expect to be rewarded with a ticket to Rio next summer.
The 28-year-old has been plying his trade in Italy since the start of last season, when the Viola lured him from Villarreal. He went on to appear in all but one Serie A match for his new club in his debut campaign, and his form was such that he received interest from Real Madrid, where he began his career as a youngster, during the window.
However, Valero began the current term in Florence, where he has again been a regular first team pick. As he continues to produce consistently impressive performances there has been talk that he could force his way into Spain’s squad for the World Cup Finals, after Vicente Del Bosque steered the current holders to Brazil as winners of Group I.
Yet despite the plaudits coming his way, the midfielder has already given up on his chances of making the 23-man pool of players which will board the plane to South America. Instead, the Madrista, who has also played for Mallorca in his homeland as well as for West Bromwich Albion in England, believes the squad has all but picked itself.
“I don’t think about it anymore,” Valero told AS. “The squad has now come together and it is essentially closed. I always play to give my best and, if I have the slightest chance then it would be great, but I think for me, it is almost impossible to play at the World Cup.”
As a youngster, Valero was a regular for the Under-17 team in 2002-03, and the following year scored the goal which won the Under-19 European Championships. However, his one and only cap for the full national side came in June 2011, when he replaced David Silva as a second-half substitute against the United States in a friendly.
