In this first part, Del Bosque tells us his thoughts on Spanish football today and looks back on his time with the national team, with whom he won the 2010 World Cup and EURO 2012.
Don Vicente, thank you very much for accepting our invitation. First of all, I would like to talk a little about the past, about history. You won nine trophies as a player and 11 as a coach. Is Vicente del Bosque synonymous with success?
"Well, I have been in a team like Real Madrid that is always close to winning titles, it is normal for Madrid to win some titles, and during the many years that I was at the club, I had time for everything as a player and as a coach."
Let's go back to the past: 2010 in South Africa. Could Andres Iniesta's winning goal in the World Cup final be one of the most important in the history of Spanish football?
"Well, we probably wouldn't be here today if Iniesta hadn't scored. Almost certainly not."
I think so, but...
"I accept whatever you think, but surely we wouldn't be here if he hadn't scored. After so many years in which we'd hardly ever done anything at national team level, winning a world title is something wonderful."
What was the toughest, most difficult game at the 2010 World Cup?
"Well, all of them, all of them were tough. The proof is that the result was always very close. But toughest, I don't know... The Chileans, in the group stage were very uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. We'd had friendly matches before and they'd always proved to be difficult opponents.
"And then in the knockout rounds, Paraguay. They were very complicated as well. A very similar style to the Chileans, with great pressure. Physically they didn't let us play. Very uncomfortable, very uncomfortable."
Don Vicente, I'd like to ask: how did you manage the great stars of the world, the great stars of Real Madrid, Barcelona and other teams and lead them to win the World Cup?
"Well, I think it was quite normal. I think it is the best and most important thing in a team to do the things you believe in and to always try to do the best possible, with love and affection for the players, but knowing that football has a singularity, which is to choose 11 players out of 23. It is always a problem, but to do it based on what you think is best for the team. And I think that was well accepted by the players."
And do you think that Spain in 2026 can repeat what you did in 2010?
"Well, I think we are on the way to that. Another thing is that we shouldn't presume beforehand that we're going to be world champions because that's not good, that's not what we should say, but it's true that deep down, I think that all Spaniards and especially those who are in the national team right now, including the coach, have a good chance of being champions.
"We have players, we have a style of play, and it has nothing to do with the one we had when we won the World Cup, but we have very good players and I think we can also be close to achieving it."
Are there any current players in the national team that you would have liked to coach?
"Well, we had some very good players, but now there are also (Mikel) Merino, Fabian (Ruiz), Rodri.... I'm talking about the midfielders they have now, who are different to ours, but also very good.
"If anything, the biggest difference between the current and the past is that we have two players on the wings who are individually very good, Nico (Williams) and Lamine (Yamal)."
Sergio Busquets recently announced his retirement from football at the end of the year, at the end of the MLS season. For you, Sergio Busquets is the definition of a midfielder, a leader on the pitch.
"Well, for us he was, of course.
"There was a lot of controversy about Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso playing in midfield, both as central midfielders, because people thought of them as defensive midfielders, but we all know that the controversy was also because one was from Barcelona and the other from Madrid, and for all the Catalans, Busquets had to play alone and for all the Madrid fans Xabi Alonso had to play alone... time has passed and they both played, and I think they were two of the most important parts of our game.
"Both Sergio and Xabi Alonso were players who did everything well, who thought a lot about the team and were at the service of the team. And until proven otherwise, which they won't be able to prove, I think they were the most effective."
What does it mean for Spanish football to host the 2030 World Cup?
"I think it is very good. We are in a country that is open to the world, which I think is very well regarded in football terms."
I want to return to the 2026 World Cup. Which team commands more respect, Argentina with Messi or Portugal with Cristiano? Both players are probably going to finish their careers after the tournament.
"They have been two stars that we have been lucky enough to enjoy in Spanish football for a decade or more than a decade, thanks to the fact that they have been able to play one for Madrid and the other for Barcelona. I think those are great things for us and we can't know the future, but it will also be good that both of them, as stars that they have been and still are, can play in that World Cup."
Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Andoni Iraola... many of the players you had in the national team now have a magnificent career as managers. Have any of them called you for advice?
"No. I think that, on a personal level, everyone is the way they are and should develop as they see fit, and then in terms of football, we all have our own ideas, what we should do, how training should be brought closer to what we then bring on matchday. In other words: train the way you are going to play.
"I imagine that everyone will have their own style and, as they have had so many coaches, they will have picked up a little bit of each one,"
How do you see Cesc Fabregas' future as a coach? He started off very well.
"We haven't had any player who, let's say, has been harmful to the national team. They've all been great, even though we couldn't play them all because it was impossible, since we had so many midfielders. Xavi, Busquets, Alonso, (David) Silva, Fabregas, (Santi) Cazorla, a lot of players. And we couldn't play with all of them.
"In some games we tried to play with all the midfielders, like against Italy in the European Championship final, and we played practically without strikers, with Iniesta, with Fabregas, with Silva as forwards, and then the other midfielders.
"Some of the defenders who played, such as (Gerard) Pique, (Alvaro) Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos, if you had asked them where they wanted to play, they would probably have said midfield rather than defence."
Did you invent that style?
"No, no, nobody invented it."
Now, I wanted to say a few words about Andoni Iraola. Do you think he is ready to go to a bigger team?
"I see it as something good for Spanish football, that there are Basque coaches, like (Mikel) Arteta too, who can go abroad, and that we can export talent is good.
"Before we had shortcomings, because our generation didn't speak English well, but it's great for Spanish football that they can go abroad. We shouldn't be afraid to go abroad. Quite the opposite. And I believe that this allows Spanish football to evolve."
There are coaches like you, like Carlo Ancelotti, like Guus Hiddink, who I remember being calm in their management, and there are also coaches like Pep Guardiola who practically every season is an innovator and tries to bring in new things. Where is modern football heading and how does it compare with what has happened before?
Football is like the business world, because it evolves. I am a layman in the business world, but I understand that it evolves. And Spanish football, football in general, is also evolving. Even the language is evolving. The language we used a few years ago is declining and new words are appearing that mean the same thing, but it is evolution that requires us to adapt day by day."
You were also coach of Besiktas. What memories do you have of that time? Was it good in Istanbul?
"Yes, for many reasons. I have a high regard for Turkish football, for the Turkish people. My experience there lasted 10 months and we had a great time.
"It was a great opportunity to be able to live in Europe and train, for example, in Asia every day. I mean, we went every day from European Istanbul to Asian Istanbul, because Besiktas' training ground was in Asia. I tell it as an anecdote, but it was a team that I carry in my heart, that I liked very much, and now I watch Besiktas matches to see if they win.
"It was also a very good step for my family. We met a guy through the Cervantes Institute, and I can't help but mention it because he helped me so that my son, who had a disability, could be a great kid, and the Cervantes Institute gave us attention for which I will always be grateful."
And do you follow the teams you coached, like Real Madrid, like Besiktas?
"Of course, of course, but it's more difficult for me to give my opinion on them because I don't want to be one of those former coaches who behave poorly in the world of football, I want to be one of those who behave well."
And finally, Don Vicente, how do you watch football now and how do you rest? Do you watch fewer games now or a lot more than when you were a coach?
"Well, about the same. Last night, for example, I watched the four games that were played... I'm aware of all the games that are on, and I like to watch them alone."
And when you watch matches, does it cross your mind what changes you would make?
"No, I don't have any nostalgia, not anymore. Not at all, not at all. I watch football because I like it, because it entertains me, but not because I think, 'If you were there, what would you do?' No, no, I don't think so."
Thank you very much.