Intro:

Spain captain Iker Casillas said on Saturday (9th June) that if the UEFA European Championships had taken place last year there may have been "a few more problems" between Real Madrid and Barcelona players, but added that "it is all forgotten" and they are focussed on winning Euro 2012.

Script:

Defending European Champions Spain trained in Gdansk, Poland on Saturday (9th June) ahead of their opening game of Euro 2012 against Italy on Sunday (10th June).

No team has ever successfully defended their European Championship crown and no team has won three consecutive world and continental titles.

Much of the Spanish team is made up of stars from rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid, and while captain and Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas admits there have been tensions in the past, this year the dressing room is a harmonious place.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish), Iker Casillas, Spain captain: 
(Is the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid players in Spain squad a problem?) "If the European Championships had been last year maybe there would have been a few more problems, not because we didn't get on with each other, there were a lot of feelings at the end of the season and the interest for each team and with a very high competitiveness between the teams. A year has passed now we look back with a smile. It's true there was a moment of high tension but today the truth is, it is all forgotten. Barcelona and Real Madrid players have acted magnificently and the page is turned for everybody and we are all concentrated on our own teams and the national team."

Spain's other Group C opponents Republic of Ireland and Croatia also play on Sunday (10th June) in Poznan.