Spain win on "hardest day" of assistant coach's career

MADRID, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Roberto Moreno sat in the dugout for Spain's 2-0 win in Malta on Tuesday night which leaves La Furia Roja with a 100 percent winning start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

However, instead of celebrating what should have been a day to remember, Moreno told the press afterwards that it was the "worst day" of his life.

The 41-year-old assistant coach took charge of the team after head coach Luis Enrique was forced to leave the squad and return to Spain because of an undisclosed family emergency.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) asked for discretion and for Enrique's privacy to be respected, and the only related news to come out of the Spain camp was a tweet from captain Sergio Ramos, who wrote: "Boss, we are very sorry about the news and hope things work out as well as possible. We want you to know that the team is right behind you to the end and we will do everything to achieve a good win today."

After the game, Moreno also expressed his feelings over what had clearly been a difficult day.

"I hope it never happens again. When I heard the news [about taking charge of the match], people sent me messages to congratulate me, but there was nothing to celebrate. I wasn't Roberto Moreno, I was just an extension of Luis and we had done all the preparation work before the game," he said.

The 41-year-old added that despite the win, Tuesday had been his "hardest day as a professional," but added that "when things like this happen, they make you stronger as a group. We knew we had to do well for the team and also for Luis."