Luis de la Fuente risked his life. The Spanish coach said this literally in the previous press conference. “This is the last game. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We have to face it as if our lives depended on it, which we do”, the Spanish coach was surprised before facing Italy. The coach, in his first big test by fire, after receiving some harsh criticism after winning his first match and losing the second, loaded himself with arguments and agreed with Vicente del Bosque, who appeared yesterday in his defense, pointing out that I’m ready. And the former coach, world and European champion was right. Yesterday, against Italy, the man from La Rioja marked his line, he went with his bet, without interference or pressure.
His pulse didn’t waver to put the two champions in the Champions League despite the fact that they only held one group training session and their commitment was questioned as they celebrated the treble with Manchester City. Laporte and Rodrigo played the whole game and at a high level. So did Le Normand, who made his debut with a note despite taking a penalty for some hands in an unfortunate action after ten minutes. The Real centre-back recovered and had an impressive debut. De la Fuente did not hold back and opted for two attacking full-backs: Navas and Jordi Alba, the only two players in the squad who knew what it was like to win the title with La Roja. The Andalusian was especially active, doing a lot of damage on the right, where the man from La Rioja found the hole for the Italians in that lane, where Rodrigo also played, another surprise. Alba, for his part, was key in the 2-1 action.
The selector marks the pattern. High pressure from the start, aggressive. A declaration of intent went well to give Spain the first goal. Luis de la Fuente asked his players for patience, to play, to lock up his rival. And they succeeded, despite the fact that the goal did not come.
De la Fuente insisted on being calm and his hand from the bench served to move important pieces and win the game against Mancini. Changes were key and his final ace was saved in the final ten minutes. Joselu did justice and gave new life to his coach, who will have another ‘last game’ on Sunday in Rotterdam, against Croatia.
Union between players and staff
Quite a bit, that of the Spanish forward, who was much celebrated from the band. While the classification was also celebrated in style, in an image of the union with all the players and coaching staff. A pineapple, a team, another one of the goals that De la Fuente has maintained from the beginning. A group dedicated to their team because, despite the differences that may have existed in the past -which there are, yes-, there are not as many doubts as they say from the outside. Spain will be playing in its second final in two years. This time with more experience, albeit against a more experienced rival: Modric’s Croatia. Another tough test for De la Fuente’s selection that, yes, they will face with more credit.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
