Spain manager Luis de la Fuente addressed the media after his side’s 3-0 victory over Croatia in their tournament opener. The match, held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, was a strong performance of intent for this young Spanish side, who have reinvented themselves under their new manager. de la Fuente expressed his delight in the performance on match day two of EURO2024.
“I am very pleased. I am especially pleased for everyone who has been working so hard here,” he told the media. “The players first of all because we have a group here with a relentless desire to work hard and improve, and the ambition to keep getting better. The coaching staff are wonderful, the best in the world. And the whole group around us- we are a big family here.”
Embed from Getty ImagesSpeaking on what impressed him most about his team’s performance, de la Fuente particularly highlighted their ability to attack in different ways. Spain managed to exploit their pace during certain phases of the game, while reverting to some neat and intricate passing – reminiscent of the Tika-Taka days. Such versatility that is the heart of de la Fuente’s philosophy.
“I think we pressed high very well and won the ball back near the opposition box. We also knew that we have real versatility and different tactical options as games progress. We have players with different attributes. The speed of Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal etc. gives us many options and we know we can be very dangerous in that side of the game.”
“We are turning this National Team into something with many options and our opponents know them we can hurt them with possession, while we can also be quick on the break too… the players deserve recognition for that because it’s down to them.”
Yesterday’s breaking news was that Aymeric Laporte was unavailable for selection in this match, which saw Real Madrid captain Nacho insered into the line-up alongside Robin Le Normand. The centre-back pairing helping Spain to a clean sheet, though it was more a lack of Croatia capitalising on their many chances. de la Fuente was asked whether this could be the pairing to stick with ahead of their next game against Italy, to which he responded:
“We will see. I am very calm and pleased about how all the players have done. We have such a high level in every position. We have two or sometimes three players per positio. Everyone played very well tonight, especially Robin le Normand and Nacho, but we will play who we think is best in the next game.”
Embed from Getty ImagesEntering the game, the headlines were dominated by one 16-year-old, Lamine Yamal. After a breathtaking performance on the European stage, the youngster showed that age was just a number. Though his manager wanted to ensure he stayed humble, and insisted he is not the focal point of the team’s analysis ahead of their next outing.
“Lamine Yamal is impressing everyone and going up the levels. He has to keep improving every day, and over time he will become a wonderful football. It’s been only one game so we don’t need to analyse such a young player in particularly.”
Though during the action, it was midfielder Fabián Ruiz who made the headlines, with an emphatic strike and assist to his name. The Spaniard, who plays his football at club level with Paris Saint-Germain, is someone who has largely gone under the radar throughout his career, with his manager brandishing him as ‘exceptional’, while also highlighting him as the ‘embodiment’ of players who have quietly gone about their game in the background of the star names around them.
“What can I tell you about Fabian Ruiz? He is an exceptional player. He is at the top level. Based on what we’ve seen form him on a daily basis, he is fantastic and he has brilliant technique – we know what he brings to the team. We should recognise the quality that he has. He has real imagination. I’ve been with him since he was very young and his pathway at club and international level has been incredible. He is the embodiment of the players who have been working hard in the shadows, and maybe the media circus isn’t around him.”
While they came out on the winning side, and with a clean sheet at that, Croatia had a multitude of chances to get back into the game in the second half after they were outplayed all over the park in the first period. No better chance came than in the 78th minute when an error from keeper Unai Simón saw the ball end up at Bruno Petković’s feet, but before he had time to slot the ball home to bring the scoreline to 3-1, he was tripped up by Manchester City’s Rodri.
Simón made up for the error of his ways with a spot kick save, though he parried it out into the path of Ivan Perišić who calmly placed it back into Petković who, this time, found the back of the net. However, after a length VAR review, Croatia were penalised for encroachment, and the chance to get a foot back into the game got away from them.
“Part of my job is just that we can’t control what happens on the outside,” de la Fuente said. “But we must control what happens internally here at the training camp. We have to stay wary, calm and proud, as well as motivated, but we have to keep motivated in the next game so that we can go far.”
Embed from Getty ImagesCroatia would end the game as the winners of the possession battle, racking up 54.4% of the ball to Spain’s 46.6%. They also registered far more shots on goal than their opponents, recording 16 total attempts, five of which were on target, though Spain matched that figure off of their 11 total shot attempts. Though that didn’t threaten de la Fuente in his post-match analysis.
“It was a really complete performance in every aspect of the game,” the manager said. “When we needed to play on the front foot, we did brilliantly. When we had to defend we did well… Croatia are one of the best in the world. We knew we’d have to dig in at some point… but we managed it well, and performed the way we needed at every stage.. Staying that focused for 90 minutes was impressive.”
Perhaps the only dampener on the game for Spain was that their captain, Álvaro Morata, had to be withdrawn at the hour mark with an apparent leg injury, while Rodri also was subbed-off late on. However, it doesn’t appear that de la Fuente is too worried about his two stars’ availability going forward into the tournament.
“Morata suffered a small blow to his calf, and Rodri was tired – he’s played so much – so he suffered a bit of cramp, but nothing major. We hope everyone can recover in time for our next match and be fully fit.”
With their performance raising the bar high, there are whispers coming from the media about whether they could go all the way to a record fourth European Championship. Though despite the speculation that flows emphatically, that is not the same mentality inside the Spanish camp:
“We’re taking it game by game. We’re not looking at becoming champions – we know there’s a big room for improvement here. This team is full of champions… We’re going to keep taking it step-by-step and see how far we go. We’ll try to go all the way, though we know it is a very difficult path and there are some brilliant teams out there.”
On what it means to Spain as a country, de la Fuente is adamant that the nation will be behind them, perhaps even more so after that performance.
“The country is going to be very excited and we’re aware of that euphoria, but we have to stay calm and be professional because staying calm is power.”
