When Luis de la Fuente is asked about his best memory of the 2019 European Under-21 Championship, he doesn’t think about the title, his third in the youth ranks of La Roja, after winning the European Under-19 Championship in 2015 and the Mediterranean Games in 2018. He also doesn’t remember a particular goal, or a tactic that worked for him during a match. The coach talks about a dinner. A dinner that he didn’t even attend. However, for De la Fuente the spirit of that encounter is kept alive in the current senior team, now no less than to eliminate Germany from their own Euro Cup in 2024.
De la Fuente took charge of the Rojita U21s when the team had practically sealed their ticket to the European Championship in Italy. They made it through the final stretch of qualification without any problems until the alarm bells rang in Bologna. Spain lost to Italy (3-1). “We started getting hit from all sides,” recalls a former employee of the Federation. La Rojita narrowly beat Belgium in the second match (2-1) and made it to the semi-finals after beating Poland (5-0). That night, so that his boys could forget about the pressure, De la Fuente freed them. “I remember it fondly. Their families and their partners were there, but they all decided to go out to dinner together, without exception. I realised that something big was about to happen,” said the current coach of the senior team at the time.
Spain triumphed in Italy against Germany. Dani Olmo and Fabián Ruiz scored in the final, the Catalan took home the award for best player of the match, the Andalusian the award for best player of the tournament. Oyarzabal, Merino and Unai Simón were also in that Rojita. The five were present in the victory, again against Germany, last Friday at Euro 2024 to seal the pass to the semi-final. This time, in Stuttgart, Olmo and Merino scored. “I want to highlight this group of players. I have known them for many years. They have heart and ambition. It is an honour for me to lead this group of players. They come from winning everything in the lower categories. And they will always be fighting because they have race, pride and quality. This team is a sure value,” praised De la Fuente to his players after the agonising victory against Germany.
It’s funny how groups work in tournaments. In most cases, unity is talked about as the path to success. That was not the case for the women’s world champions in Australia and New Zealand: internal problems between players, between players and coaching staff and, as if that were not enough, also between the coaching staff. But Spain climbed to the top of the podium in Sydney. It is also said that it is necessary for footballers to enjoy a clear head of problems in order to give their best version on the field. Maradona arrived at Mexico 86 knowing that in Italy an illegitimate child was waiting for him. It is difficult to remember a better individual performance in a team sport than that of Pelusa on Aztec soil.
“There are problems in all groups, even in those idealized teams of Luis [Aragonés] and Vicente [Del Bosque] “There was friction,” recalls a Federation employee. However, the same source says, he is looking for a common thread: “That team had the same thing as this one, a group of players who knew each other from the lower categories. That helps in bad times.”
Luis’s philosophy
This is precisely the philosophy that De la Fuente advocates. “He is a special person for all of us. He is approachable and knows how to create a good atmosphere between the players. He generates a good atmosphere. He has always been the same. He has not changed,” explains one of the players from La Roja. According to the coach, a disunited and problematic group can win; however, as soon as something goes wrong, everything goes up in smoke. On the other hand, when a team is united, it is difficult to overcome it. “Look at all the things we have been through. And here we are,” reflects the delegation from La Roja in Donaueschingen. While the Federation is piling up problems, De la Fuente’s boys (now ex-boys) are standing firm. “We have been dealing with many extra-sporting issues for a long time and we have become a kind of expert in dealing with these types of situations. This team does not make excuses for anything,” explains Rodri.
The City player imposes football and order. Morata, for his part, leads by example. This Saturday, when it was only the turn of the players who had not participated against Germany to train, the captain went out onto the training pitch with the substitutes. “It is a way of keeping everyone focused. If Álvaro trains, and gives his all in every match, how can those who did not play not do so,” said a member of the Federation.
Rodri and Morata are joined by the old guard of De la Fuente, European champions under 19 and under 21, always with the Basque coach in charge. Now they want the title with the senior team. They maintain the same formula, the one they forged at a dinner in Italy in 2019.
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