How direct De la Fuente made Spain buck its idea up

In Luis de la Fuente's first international break with Spain back in March 2023, he stopped a training session at moments that the players didn't expect. It's an approach that has become familiar now but was odd for the squad at the time.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

One intervention was for goalkeeper Unai Simon to kick it long. Another was to work on set pieces, since De la Fuente's predecessor Luis Enrique had insisted he "didn't have time". These are rudimentarily pragmatic elements that seem to run against Spain's ideological purism, the pressing-possession that has dominated the game for 16 years, but that was part of the point.

By contrast, Enrique gave long instructional talks with a giant screen after sessions, which began to contribute to a sense of detachment and drift. This was the great frustration with his regime. It had seemed like a vibrant new era with a new generation but ended up falling to all of the same old flaws Spain have suffered since 2012.

The 2022 World Cup elimination to Morocco was a nadir because of how excessive possession again became a parody with a punchline rather than a knockout blow. The 2008-12 glory era was becoming a burden, having previously been a long-awaited watershed.

This is why Euro 2024 has been so satisfying for those in the country's football culture. It is not just a return to a major final for the first time since 2012 but the revitalisation of an idea. That idea simply required sharpening.

De la Fuente has done that. That is most obvious in the two exhilaratingly incisive young wingers. They were also part of an overhaul where De la Fuente showed his own edge after an initial 2-0 defeat by Scotland in that March 2023 break. The manager realised some of the ideas weren't immediately being grasped, so it was time to make grander changes.

The core idea persisted within, even if it had to evolve. That is quite a remarkable thing, especially as Rodri made such a point of putting his foot on the ball in the final moments against France to put Spain back in the final.