Euro 2024 final, Spain v England: ‘Luis de la Fuente knew team were special and nation now believes too’

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Euro 2024 final, Spain v England: ‘Luis de la Fuente knew team were special and nation now believes too’

Since his appointment in December 2022 after the Qatar World Cup, this is the first squad to be selected exclusively by him and his backroom team.

When Spain

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they did so effectively with former coach Luis Enrique’s side.

This is a squad built on the foundations of those players De la Fuente has worked with over the past 11 years he has been with the Spanish football federation (RFEF), the base of which comes from the U19s and U21s victories in previous ********* Championships.

In 2015 he won the ********* Under-19 Championship with a team that included the likes of Rodri and Mikel Merino in central midfield.

Then in 2019 the side that won the ********* Under-21 title included in its ranks Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal and Fabian Ruiz.

He also won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a team that included Marc Cucurella, Pedri, Unai Simon and once again Merino, Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo.

Players he has been in touch with throughout their careers, through good times and bad.

Add to that the sparkle of the likes of birthday boys Lamine Yamal (13 July) and Nico Williams (12 July), whose combined age of 39 is now greater – just – than that of the veteran of the squad, 38-year-old ****** Navas, the last remaining link to the great Spain sides from 2008 to 2012.

One of De la Fuente’s qualities is his adaptability. He was chosen because he could add different layers to a side that became obsessed with possession.

But it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Along the way he has had to make difficult and not always popular decisions, and also survive one error of judgement.

When he, and others, gave former RFEF president Luis Rubiales a standing ovation when he announced at a rapidly convened meeting that he would not resign over kissing player Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup,

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.

De la Fuente was caught very much between a rock and a hard place, entering the room not being sure of what was being displayed in front of him, and now recognises he took the wrong decision.

He is very much a ‘company man’ – a civil ******** of the RFEF if you like – and behaved as he was supposed to.

But he survived.

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