The new Spanish coach does not change the way of playing
"I've been a professional footballer for 15 years," said De la Fuente at his debut press conference as Spain's head coach on December 12. "With all humility and honesty, if anyone knows what the future of Spanish football holds, it's me."
Starting his career at Spanish club Portugalete, De la Fuente was appointed to lead CD Aurrerá de Vitoria in the summer of 2000, but was sacked in March 2021. He had two stints with Athletic Bilbao 2006-2007 and 2009-2011, then coached Alaves for several months.
Since 2013, De la Fuente has been with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), leading the U19 team and then serving in the U21 and U23 teams. The 61-year-old's most notable achievement is winning the 2019 European Under-21 Championship and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medal. Many players attend the 2022 World Cup - including Unai Simon, Eric Garcia, Pau Torres, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Marco Asensio - once called up by Fuente to the 2020 Olympic squad.
The style of ball control Spain pursued under Enrique was deemed no longer suitable for modern football. At the 2022 World Cup, Spain kicked back in a rich style, starting with a 7-0 win over Costa Rica, a 1-1 draw with Germany and then a 1-2 loss to Japan in the group stage, before losing to Morocco 0 -3 in the penalty shootout in the 1/8 round.
Therefore, one of the most concerned issues when the Spanish Football Federation appoints a new coach is whether the team will abandon the style shaped by Enrique. But De la Fuente insists he will not change, but only tries to "edit to improve, interpret the evolution" of the gameplay under his predecessor. He also confirmed that it is not necessary to rejuvenate the force like Enrique's method, and paved the way for captain Sergio Busquets to stay, and left open the possibility of the return of former captain Sergio Ramos.
The new Spain coach also paid tribute to Enrique. "I have a very close relationship with Luis Enrique and I thank him," added De la Fuente. "We texted him and he congratulated me. You don't have to analyze anything about the 2022 World Cup. What Enrique did was phenomenal, but you can still get results that aren't as expected. would like".
At the 2022 World Cup, coach Enrique set up an account on Twitch to regularly interact online, relax with fans as well as personally update information about the team. However, De la Fuente insists he will not use social networks and only publishes official information through RFEF or the media.
After parting with Luis Enrique, the RFEF appointed De la Fuente on a two-year contract. He will be supported by trusted assistants who have worked with youth levels, with Pablo Amo, Juanjo Gonzalez as assistant coach, Carlos Cruz as fitness coach, Miguel Angel Espana as goalkeeping coach, and Javier Lopez Vallejo works as a psychologist. Spain's new coaching staff will make their debut at Euro 2024 qualifying, with matches against Norway on March 25, 2023 and Scotland on March 28.
During his playing career, De la Fuente played at left-back and played for Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and Alaves clubs. He played a total of 254 La Liga matches and scored 6 goals. De la Fuente has never played for Spain, but only plays for this country's youth teams. He retired at the age of 33, after a season playing in the third division with Alaves and soon began his coaching career in 1999.
