Alvaro Odriozola says the dismissal of Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup really affected the Spain players.
The 2010 winners went into the tournament as one of the favourites after a string of scintillating friendly performances in the build-up. However, Lopetegui was shown the door two days before their opening match following his decision to accept Real Madrid's offer of becoming their new manager after the tournament without informing the national FA.
Fernando Hierro was drafted in and, following a underwhelming group stage, Spain were surprisingly beaten by hosts Russia on penalties in the round of 16.
"I am not going to talk about whether the decision was correct or not but we lost our coach," said Odriozola. "You want it to not affect you and Julen is also someone that gives a lot to the team but still we gave Hierro everything.
"He was capable but we were not capable on the pitch to show the superiority that we are supposed to have against Russia.
"We would have liked to have been longer in the competition and get to July 15 but for different reasons we were not able. It was an unforgettable experience."
