He is not a striker. And so far he has only played two games as a starter. However, he is Spain’s top scorer at the European Championship, with three goals. Dani Olmo is not the replacement for Luis de la Fuente’s team, on the contrary; he was expected to be one of the stars of La Roja. At least that is what former Germany captain Philipp Lahm had anticipated. “What matters to me is what happens behind closed doors. I care that the team wins. Recognition will come later. We have a unique opportunity. We are one game away from glory,” said the midfielder, after Spain’s penultimate training session, before travelling to Berlin on Saturday. England awaits them on Sunday.
Last season was a tough one for Dani Olmo: he suffered three injuries that forced him to miss 29 games. The last one, in the final stretch of the season, on the eve of Spain’s training camp for the Euros. Olmo, then, decided to speed up his training camp with La Roja and arrived before anyone else in Las Rozas. However, he could not find his fitness and missed Spain’s two preparation games before travelling to Germany (Andorra and Northern Ireland). Two friendlies, precisely, in which Pedri stood out. “Pedri needed to meet Pedri again,” said De la Fuente. Olmo, meanwhile, tried hard to meet Dani Olmo again. He did not succeed.
In La Roja’s opening game in Germany against Croatia, he played 31 minutes. He did not do well. Against Italy, in the second match of the group stage, he did not even participate. “I am calm, I have to work hard. I know I will have my chance,” he told those around him. In any case, it happened that watching the game against Croatia blue From the bench, he activated Dani Olmo’s most competitive side. He redoubled his efforts in training, without disturbing the coexistence in a group in which Morata is the boss. “Álvaro always deserves all the best. For the teammate and the captain that he is,” said Olmo.
He reappeared in the starting eleven against Albania and provided a luxury assist for Ferran Torres. But against Georgia, in the round of 16, he returned to the bench. This time, he did not get irritated. He came on to the field in the second half and scored. And when Dani Olmo threatened to break Pedri’s status, a violent tackle by Toni Kroos left the Canary Islander out of the Euro. Olmo showed solidarity with Pedri. “We are together all day,” he warned Relevo; before, in March, he had also been close to the Barça player when he was injured in a match against Athletic in March: “He is having bad luck with injuries. That is why I want to send my regards and encouragement to Pedri.”
Against Germany, with Pedri in the back room from the 8th minute, Olmo took the reins of La Roja. And, as against Georgia in the round of 16, he scored again against the Mannschaft. “Dani was going to end up being important. He is a footballer we know very well, we know his potential. He is perfect for playing between the lines, but he can also go out to the wing,” the coaching staff explained. “The fact that I had to start from the bench has not changed my way of understanding the competition. I still had the same ambition,” insisted Olmo in an interview with El PAÍS.
Now a regular in the starting eleven, Dani Olmo raised his game against France: a new goal catapulted him to the top of the Euro scoring charts, tied with Cody Gakpo, Harry Kane, Ivan Schranz, Jamal Musiala and George Mikautadze. If he scores against England on Sunday, he could become the first player to do so in the round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final. “An extra motivation, if possible,” he began. “But,” he added, “as long as we win, it doesn’t matter to me if I score or Unai Simón does… The important thing is to win the match.”
David Villa scored four goals at Euro 2008; David Silva, three, at Euro 2012. Both won the Golden Boot; Spain, the Euro for Las Rozas. “I felt very good at the Euro, Harry Kane and I are tied,” he said in relation to his fight to become the top scorer at Euro 2008. “But if Fabián Ruiz, who has two, scores, and even Morata scores a hat-trick… We would be just as happy,” concluded Dani Olmo, always a favourite player of De la Fuente, today also the unexpected scorer for La Roja.
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