Euro 2016 Spain squad: Diego Costa and Juan Mata left out of Vicente del Bosque's preliminary squad for Euro 2016

Vicente del Bosque has named his preliminary squad for Euro 2016             (Getty)

Del Bosque has announced his 25-man preliminary squad for Spain's European Championship defence with som enotable absentees.

Costa endured a difficult start to the season with Chelsea, scoring just three league goals before Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, though he showed a marked improvement under Guus Hiddink which led to fans criticising him for not playing hard enough under Mourinho.

Diego Costa has been left out of Spain's preliminary 25-man squad for Euro 2016 (Getty)

The 27-year-old missed the last two matches of the season due to a recurrence of a hamstring injury that has hindered him this season, and Del Bosque has elected to leave him out of his squad for the international friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina, South Korea and Georgia, with two players set to be culled to decide Del Bosque’s final squad.

In place of Costa is 35-year-old Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz, who has made just three international appearances since making his debut in 2010. The former Valencia striker has netted 20 goals in La Liga this season and also scored on his return to the Spain squad in the 1-1 draw with Italy in March, and his inclusion means there is also no space for former Chelsea forward Fernando Torres despite his recent up-turn in form to help Atletico Madrid reach the Champions League final.

Another casualty is Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, with the likes of David Silva, Cesc Fabregas and Isco preferred. With three goalkeepers and just seven defenders named in the squad, the two players to miss out on the final squad could well both come from the pool of 10 midfielders.

Juan Mata was left out of the Spain squad for the Euros                  (Getty)

Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla is another to miss out following his lengthy absence with a knee injury, while Bayern Munich’s Javi Martinez has been overlooked with Mikel San Jose preferred to provide cover for the defence as well as the holding midfield role.

Cazorla and Costa’s absence means that the squad has five representatives from the Premier League, with Silva and Fabregas joined by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta and Pedro.

Spain’s preliminary 25-man Euro 2016 squad:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Porto), David De Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Rico (Sevilla)

Defenders: Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Marc Bartra (all Barcelona), Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal (both Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta (both Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Mikel San Jose (Athletic Bilbao), Koke, Saul Niguez (both Atletico Madrid), Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Isco (Real Madrid), Bruno Soriano (Villarreal)

Forwards: Pedro Rodriguez (Chelsea), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Nolito (Celta Vigo), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)

Spain's Princess Cristina tried for fraud in historic case

The princess arrived with her husband at a makeshift courtroom in Palma, Majorca 

Spain's Princess Cristina has become the first member of the country's royal family to be put on trial.

She is charged with being an accomplice in an alleged embezzlement scam involving her husband and 16 other defendants, who all deny the charges.

Princess Cristina, 50, faces eight years in jail if found guilty by a three-member panel of judges.

The trial in Palma, Majorca, is seen as an embarrassment for the royal family.

Princess Cristina arrived at the court in Palma on Monday with her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, who is accused of embezzlement and money laundering.

They made no statement to reporters. A small group of anti-monarchists protested outside.

As the judges read out the charges, the princess sat at the back of a makeshift courtroom at the public administration school in Palma. Her husband sat in the same row but court rules prevented them from sitting together.

The princess (back row, first from left) sat some distance from her husband 

It all looks so normal.

Three rows of six defendants sitting in court on blue chairs, facing the panel of judges.

But in the third row, at one end, sits Princess Cristina, sixth in line to the Spanish throne.

It's something many people in Spain thought they would never see - the powerful being held to account.

Princess Cristina's lawyers will try to get charges against her dismissed. But in a country where corruption has become a huge political issue, this is a big moment.

Mr Urdangarin's supposedly non-profit Noos Institute sports foundation was allegedly used as a vehicle to win falsely inflated contracts from regional government bodies, before channelling the money to personal accounts via tax havens.

Noos is alleged to have received more than €6m (£4.4m; $6.5m) of public money, most of it from the Balearic Islands and Valencia regional governments.

If found guilty, Mr Urdangarin could face 19 years and six months in jail.

Princess Cristina was a board member at the foundation and, with Mr Urdangarin, co-owned a real estate company called Aizoon, which prosecutors say was used to launder embezzled funds.

One of the allegations against the princess is that she made personal use of Aizoon funds for paying for clothes and dance lessons for the couple's children as well as work on the couple's Barcelona mansion.

The case was launched in 2010 by a judge investigating corruption among Balearic Islands officials. It has become highly symbolic of perceived corruption among Spain's elites, including the royal family.

As the trial began, the princess's lawyer asked the judges to drop the case against her because it was not supported by public prosecutors.

Anti-corruption prosecutor Pedro Horrach said putting her on trial would amount to discrimination and state attorney Dolores Ripoll said the tax authorities did not believe she had committed a crime.

The princess's defence lawyer argued that the only accusation against the princess had been made privately, by anti-corruption group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands). Lawyers cited the so-called "Botin doctrine", named after a case dropped against a former Spanish bank chief in 2007.

Clean Hands lawyer Virginia Lopez Negrete condemned the doctrine as "anachronistic" and said all citizens were equal before the law.

Last year, King Felipe stripped his sister of the title of Duchess of Palma, but she remains sixth in line to the throne.

The charges

Princess Cristina is charged with being an accomplice to tax fraud, relating to the financial years 2007 and 2008. The private prosecution accusing her wants a jail sentence of eight years. 

Inaki Urdangarin is accused of using the Noos Institute and associated companies to embezzle public funds amounting to €5.6m and is also accused of fraud, influence peddling and money laundering, among other offences. The public prosecutor wants a jail sentence of 19.5 years for the king's brother-in-law 

There are 16 other defendants in the case, including Diego Torres, Mr Urdangarin's former partner at Noos, and Jaume Matas, a former government minister and former chief of the Balearic Islands regional government 

Mr Torres could face more than 16 years in jail on similar charges to Mr Urdangarin, while Mr Matas could face 11 years, having already served a nine-month term for corruption 

The trial is expected to last six months.

Source: BBC

Zinedine Zidane replaces Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid coach

Rafael Benitez has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid after just seven months in charge at the Bernabeu.

The 55-year-old Spaniard was relieved of his duties following a meeting of the club's board on Monday.

Real's B team coach Zinedine Zidane, 43, has been promoted to the role of first-team boss.

Frenchman Zidane, a former Real player and World Cup winner, said: "I am going to put my heart and soul into this job so that everything works out well."

Benitez's final game was Sunday's 2-2 draw with Valencia, which left them third in La Liga, four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

The right replacement for Rafa?

For a man with no experience of managing at the top level, Zidane's appointment could be considered a risk - but he has long been seen as a future Real boss.

Zidane has been coach of Real's B team - who are second in the Spanish third tier - since 2014. Prior to that he was an integral member of the backroom staff under then Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who led the side to 'La Decima' - the club's 10th European Cup.

During his playing career, the Frenchman was one of Real's key 'Galacticos' - a label given to the expensive players signed by club president Florentino Perez in the early to mid-2000s.

Zinedine Zidane is the first French manager in Real Madrid's history

Real paid Juventus a then world record fee of £45.8m in 2001 for the midfielder, who had already won the World Cup and European Championship.

At the Bernabeu, he played alongside players such as Luis Figo, Raul and Ronaldo, and also featured in the same midfield as England captain David Beckham.

During a five-year stay, he helped the side win the Spanish league in 2003 and was named Fifa world player of the year for the third time that year.

But perhaps his defining moment came during the 2002 Champions League final, when he scored a stunning volley against Bayer Leverkusen at Hampden Park.

What next for Benitez?

Benitez may be loved in Liverpool and Valencia, but his reputation as a manager has diminished in his past two jobs - at Napoli and Real.

The Spaniard replaced Walter Mazzarri as Napoli boss in May 2013, and won the Coppa Italia in his first season in charge, but things soured in his second and final season.

Napoli failed to make the Champions League despite the big-money signings of Gonzalo Higuain, Jose Maria Callejon, Raul Albiol and Dries Mertens, with Benitez criticised for his rotation policy and stubborn adherence to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Real lost just three of their 25 competitive matches under Benitez, but the club's supporters quickly tired of what they regarded as a sterile and unexciting style of play.

West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan said last month that Benitez was"two hours away" from being appointed Hammers boss before he took the Real job.

His trophy-laden CV map tempt other Premier League clubs to turn to a man whose family home is still in Liverpool.

And what next for Mourinho?

Jose Mourinho was named Real Madrid boss in May 2010

Real overlooked one of their notable former managers in turning to Zidane.

Jose Mourinho guided the club to the league title in 2012 and - following his sacking by Chelsea last month - is available.

He has unfinished business at the Bernabeu having failed to win the Champions League - a prize coveted perhaps more than any other by Los Blancos.

But there were reports his relationship with forward Cristiano Ronaldo broke down during his last spell in charge, while he also had high-profile clashes with fan favourites Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas.

And following Mourinho's departure from Chelsea, Perez said there would be no imminent return to the Bernabeu for 'the Special One'.

The Spanish La Liga As It Stands

Source: BBC