Luis de la Fuente: The architect behind Spain’s FIFA World Cup revival | Football News

The Spanish seem very adept at frustrating their opponents. Their PM, Pedro Sanchez, showed it in the geopolitical pitch, repeatedly lashing out at Trump for his refusal to allow the US to use Spain’s airspace for the war on Iran.A few weeks later, Luis de la Fuente, head of their national team, expressed a similar belief in his ‘camaraderie’ theory to fail the superpowers of football – Portugal, Belgium, France and finally the ‘untouchables’, Lionel Messiin Argentina. Spain’s World Cup victory marked the return of a football empire — one built not on the brilliance of superstars, but on the power and appeal of the collective.To conquer Europe in 2024, Spain’s victory on Sunday in New York two years ago completed a remarkable renaissance, proving that the country’s football identity has evolved instead of simply returning.The possession-based approach to suppress the opposition in submission, pioneered by Luis Aragones, earned Spain their first continental trophy in 2008, after 44 years.Then, they conquered the world in 2010, riding on the previous carousel of Vicente del Bosque. The European summit that was renewed in 2012 was the high point, a delicious mix of passing creativity and sharpness in the penalty box. But then, Spain lost their way in a passing warp.Caught in the maze of possession, Spain plunged into the abyss when Del Bosque’s men failed in 2014. At Qatar 2022, enjoying 75% possession, Luis Enrique’s boys failed to score in 120 minutes against Morocco! Luis de la Fuente walked. As of Sunday, Spain had not lost any of the continental matches since the 65-year-old’s appointment four years ago. La Roja won all seven matches to claim Euro 2024 scoring 15 goals. This time, they won seven out of eight in a draw, scoring 14 and conceding just one. Having spent a decade nurturing Spain’s youth teams, he used his deep relationships with the players he nurtured from their teenage years.

Unlike many modern international sides that revolve around an extraordinary number, Spain’s greatest strength is that no player is needed. Lamine Yamal dazzled, Rodri controlled, Pedri dictated the pace, Nico Williams stretched the defenses and Ferran Torres, a substitute, provided the decisive goal. But none of them carried the burden alone. With the fate of the final still in jeopardy, Rodri made way for Zubimendi for his first taste of the World Cup in the 99th minute. Ideas about icons.The architect of this revival was De la Fuente himself. He coached Spain’s Under-19s to the European title in 2015, the Under-21s to the European Championship in 2019, and the Olympic side to silver in Tokyo before taking charge of the senior team in 2022. Many of the players who lifted the World Cup learned his theorems as teenagers. The players arrived at the senior squad fluent in De la Fuente’s language. The national team is just the latest stage in a long journey of development.Euro 2024 offers the first glimpse of this change. Spain has abandoned the stereotype of sterile ownership that defined the latter years of the Xavi-Iniesta era (2008-2012). They add speed, verticality and athleticism.Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams provide width and acceleration, while Rodri and Pedri ensure control of the midfield. The European title is the foundation of a larger project that reached its logical conclusion on Sunday.