Luis de la Fuente is the great reinforcement of the victory of the Spanish team in the League of Nations, won on Sunday on penalties against Croatia in Rotterdam (Netherlands). With a team that critics recognize is much worse than the golden age in which Spain won two European Championships and a World Cup, the red team met again with an official title, the first in eleven years, albeit less than the previous ones.
Born in Haro (La Rioja), the coach, who turns 62 tomorrow Tuesday, reached this Nations League final four in a very delicate position. A footballer for many years at Athletic Club and later at Sevilla, where he was a left-back, but without experience on elite team benches (he had only trained in Segunda B), but he did forge himself in the Federation in the under-19, under- 21 and sub-23, with whom he played in the Tokyo Olympics, reaching the silver medal, De la Fuente came to the position after the non-renewal of Luis Enrique due to the bad role of the red in the World Cup in Qatar, where he did not it passed from the eighths when it was eliminated by Morocco.
De la Fuente was a personal bet of the president of the Federation, Luis Rubiales, who looked for a man of the house instead of serving the market, in which much more contrasting names sounded, such as Marcelino García Toral.
Luis de la Fuente was officially presented as the Spain coach on December 13 at an event at the Ciudad del Fútbol in Las Rozas, where he was shielded by Luis Rubiales and the new director of the team, former footballer Albert Luque.
Luis de la Fuente could not have started better. It debuted on March 25 at La Rosaleda in Málaga with a resounding 3-0 victory against a Norway team without Erling Håland in a qualifying match for the Euro Cup in Germany 2024. The result was somewhat misleading with the game, which was not quite convincing. The worst omens came a few days later in the second group game, when Spain fell 2-0 at Hampden Park in Glasgow against Scotland, a middling team, confirming all doubts. That March 28, the criticism was harsh and the first names appeared to replace the coach.
Luis Rubiales had to come forward to deny that the Federation had lost confidence in De la Fuente so soon. Asked about it, the president emphatically said that all this was false. “The situation is the same as when he was named coach. The trust is full,” he said.
However, the red reached the semifinal of the League of Nations, turning the match against Italy into a kind of validation for the coach, something that was palpable in the environment and that the man from La Rioja denied. Reached the final with a goal from Joselu in the last minutes, De la Fuente came out to the press conference without showing his chest: “I’m calm. In the end you will understand why they call me the quiet man. I like to attend to what I can control, the rest does not interest me, ”he said.
After the victory against Croatia, De la Fuente reaffirmed what he said after the defeat against Scotland, that he would not move an inch from his idea. “I hope that this victory once again marks that spirit and that pride in representing Spain. He was sure he was on the right path. Now we have to let these footballers continue playing”. Luis Rubiales limited himself to saying that De la Fuente “is doing a great job”.
The team celebrated the victory against Croatia with a massive party at the WiZink Center (the Palacio de los Deportes in Madrid). After various musical performances, the footballers made their appearance at 8:30 p.m. Captain Jordi Alba and Álvaro Morata carried the trophy. Rodri, was the most acclaimed player with cries of “Rodri Ballon d’Or”. The players surrounded him in chorus singing “Rodri is on fire”.
The most emotional moment was when Jordi Alba, in his speech, remembered Sergio Rico, the PSG goalkeeper who has been hospitalized for weeks. Jordi Alba also remembered Luis Enrique, a name whistled by the public, and Luis Rubiales, to which part of the public responded with shouts of “Corruption in the Federation”. Gavi was one of the players most in demand by the attendees, like Joselu Mato, who ended his speech with a Hala Madrid! very celebrated. Fabián Ruiz was the most witty and said “he tried to beat Grealish without sleeping”. And the players ended up throwing De la Fuente on the podium.
