De la Fuente, tenor and throat

The passage of the Spanish team of Luis de la Fuente through this Eurocup brought back our enthusiasm and smile. This humble coach with lofty dreams has the credit for restoring lost football. The most important ingredient in his recipe is the confidence of the players.

The first stage was impeccable in the game, in defense, three dry matches, calling

The passage of the Spanish team of Luis de la Fuente through this Eurocup brought back our enthusiasm and smile. This humble coach with lofty dreams has the credit for restoring lost football. The most important ingredient in his recipe is the confidence of the players.

The first stage was flawless in play, defensive style, with three clean sheets, attacking play and results. Spain have several records that range from the brilliance of extremes, the extraordinary Nico and Lamine, to the pecking order of Rodri and the impressive Fabian, reminiscent of the best Pedri, beginning to emerge. Even Morata feels like a leader and it shows. Spain can be vertical or horizontal, and this makes it difficult for opponents to understand.

Group flows and good solutions can be found even in another plan that we saw against Albania. It’s not easy to bring together 11 players who have never played together and get them to compete. Dani Olmo is also finding his groove again and David Raya gives Unai Simon a boost, which is the best thing to say to the substitute goalkeeper. You can imagine Jesus Navas or Grimaldo throwing bananas at Josel’s head in a tight situation late in the game.

Although brilliant, the minimum tasks were completed, but now the next EuroCup begins. Travels are a different story. Breaking the statistics in the early stages may not mean making history. Qualification was the minimum goal, or in other words, “the tenor is not applauded for clearing his throat.” For now, the rivals’ bid has been met and Spain has earned the right to be in the candidate group alongside Portugal and Germany. The bragging rights will begin when they get past a hypothetical quarter-final against the hosts. When we get to that river, we’ll cross it. De la Fuente’s glory will be that his team will compete from now on as they play, but with no margin for error…