The bad luck of Spain in the last shootouts changed with Luis de la Fuente, a coach who had been touched by Spain’s defeat against Scotland in the second qualifying game for next year’s Euro Cup in Germany and who comes out reinforced for having given the red its first title in eleven years. Spain was not a champion since they won the 2012 Euro Cup in kyiv with Del Bosque on the bench.
And that the omens could not be worse since the referee whistled the end of the 120 minutes and gave way to the launch from eleven meters. To make matters worse, Jordi Alba lost the draw to Luka Modric and Croatia launched first, something that the statistics show gives them a significant advantage.
De la Fuente remained unperturbed on the bench. He is not a man given to emotions when he directs the games from the band. The day before, when asked if his players had practiced penalty kicks, he vehemently affirmed it. He also has a reputation for being methodical. More rational than emotional.
The precedents could not be more dire. Spain had just been eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar in the round of 16 on penalties against Morocco. In the last Eurocopa it had been in the semifinals against Italy. It is true that in the quarterfinals he had thrown out Switzerland by the same method. But he had also gone home from the previous World Cup, the one in Russia, also in the round of 16 and on penalties against the host, with Fernando Hierro as an emergency improvised coach.
Before such a colossal fario against Luis de la Fuente stood the Croatian team, which seemed born to shoot penalties in decisive phases. The Croats had won their last four rounds, the last two in the World Cup in Qatar, where they threw out Japan and no less than Brazil. But they had also won the World Cup in Russia from eleven meters to Denmark and Russia. In the Qatar World Cup under the sticks there was Livakovic, the same as yesterday, and in Russia the goalkeeper was Subasic.
The penalty shootout this time had nothing to do with the one carried out by Spain in Qatar. On that occasion, the red missed the three pitches that he launched. Sarabia, Carlos Soler and Busquets failed before an unbeatable Bono. In Rotterdam the red scored the first four thanks to Joselu, Rodri, Mikel Merino and Asensio, but for greater drama Laporte sent his to the crossbar that would have already given the title in that first round. Petkovic missed the sixth and Dani Carvajal, with unusual composure in someone who has taken a free-kick in his team in his life, nailed the winning goal.
De la Fuente can now breathe easy. In the last weeks in the Federation, possible names to replace him were already sounding, among them Andoni Iraola or Marcelino García Toral. Official sources deny that the coach was in danger, but the defeat against Scotland had done a lot of damage and the team’s game did not arouse much spirits. The semifinal against Italy, won with a goal from Joselu in the final minutes, had not cleared up the doubts.
De la Fuente can already calmly prepare for the next two qualifying matches for the Eurocup. Against Georgia at home and against Cyprus at El Sardinero. But it will already be in September.
