revolution Renewal Exchange. novelty Everyone can choose the word that suits them best, but what there is no doubt about is that a new stage in the Spanish national football team began in earnest yesterday. After more than three months of exhaustive work, Luis de la Fuente offered his first call. The 26 footballers – there were 25 at the last minute due to Pedri’s withdrawal due to physical problems – chosen to start the road to Euro 2024, against Norway in Malaga (25/III) and against Scotland in Glasgow (28/ III). And in this tug-of-war there are only 11 names from those who were at the World Cup in Qatar. Capital rudder blow from the new selector to mark the ground.
“It’s a very versatile list, which will allow us to face several scenarios”, repeated De la Fuente in Las Rozas minutes after revealing the call.
There are many proper names on the list. Footballers who return after a long time and others who debut with the absolute. This is the case of two veterans such as David García (29), central Osasuna, and Joselu (32), the goalscorer of Espanyol, who had been international under 19, under 20 and under 21 but who did not dress with her since 2010. “I can’t even talk about the emotion I have”, he remarked in a video posted on social networks with a smile that didn’t fit on his face.
After almost a decade in the lower ranks of the RFEF, De la Fuente has managed several generations of Spanish footballers, a knowledge that is reflected in the call-up with the return of players such as Fabián Ruiz, Mikel Oyarzabal and, in particular, Dani Ceballos , his extension to the field of play in the under 21 selection that was proclaimed continental champion in 2019. There are also Zubimendi, Merino – both midfielders of Real Sociedad – or Bryan Gil, important pieces in the selection that hung- the Olympic silver in Tokyo with the one from La Rioja on the bench. “We have not looked at the past, we have focused on the present and the future. It is a list of consensus with which we aim to generate an environment in which we all feel comfortable and cohesive. The key word is team”, defended the national coach. For different reasons, none of the three Spanish captains in Qatar (Busquets, Koke and Jordi Alba) are on the list and the protocol points to Rodri, Morata and Carvajal as their successors as they are the ones who have been international the most times. But De la Fuente trusts to be able to print “a personal touch” in this section. “There are leaders who emerge spontaneously, who the footballers choose naturally without the need for them to be the most veteran, and I am convinced that it will also happen in this dressing room.”
Among the most famous returns is that of Iago Aspas, who had not been called up since June 2019, erased from the radar by Luis Enrique. “He’s in a great moment and he’s a player that all the coaches like, I’m sure my predecessor too”, surprised Haro. The presence of Pedro Porro, who made his debut in 2021 and… was never heard from again, also draws attention, and also of Nacho, a footballer who had been claiming the Madrid sector of the media for a long time. With the versatile white defender, who is going through a good moment of form, there are three footballers from Real Madrid in the call-up (alongside Carvajal and Ceballos), one more of those who show off for Barcelona: Balde and Gavi, facing the layoff for more hours tard de Pedri, initially summoned by the coach.
What does not appear is Sergio Ramos, the name with which De la was criticized by journalists after a conversation he had with de Camas in which he informed him that he would no longer count on him emerged. “There is a new project and my bet is what it is”, concluded the coach.
