Luis de la Fuente has gone, in the span of just four years, from a national team coach whose credentials were questioned due to a relatively modest résumé to becoming one of the most highly regarded managers in world soccer. After a long career guiding Spain’s youth teams, he took over the senior national side and led it to the summit of international soccer, winning the UEFA Nations League, the European Championship, and now the World Cup. The 65-year-old’s affable, consensus-building character masks an unwavering belief in his soccer philosophy and in his mantra of selecting “good players and good people”. It is an approach that has helped Spain go 38 consecutive matches unbeaten and deliver an impressive campaign in North America. Just days after etching his name into soccer history, the national team manager sat down with AS to reflect on the past, present, and future of La Roja.
You visited AS four years ago when you were appointed national team coach and said: “I have the best players.” But did you ever imagine you’d prove that belief by winning the World Cup?
Maybe not, but success is built one step at a time. This team has been taking those steps with conviction, determination, strength, and confidence. Once you get into the thick of a World Cup, you start thinking: We’re going to compete for this, no doubt about it. I always said that. Winning it, of course, is another matter. In the final, we were clearly the better team. [Argentina] didn’t even register a shot on target against us. We felt a certain level of calm, although that word always comes with an asterisk. Even then, you can still lose. If [Pau] Cubarsí’s clearance in extra time had deflected off Unai Simón and into our own net, we could have lost without the opposition putting a shot on target. Fortunately, we handled that situation perfectly.
What goes through your mind when people say this is Luis de la Fuente’s World Cup?
It makes me blush. But I’d like to remind everyone that this is the World Cup of a great national team.
How do you win a World Cup while conceding only one goal? What do you make of that statistic?
Opponents managed just ten shots against us during the entire tournament. That comes from a defensive concept that has been meticulously developed and executed. This team defends collectively in spectacular fashion. All 11 players defend. It’s a very balanced team because, if you look at our numbers, we score plenty of goals too. We’ve scored a lot and conceded only once. And it’s been a constant trend. We’ve scored more than 100 goals and allowed very few in 50 matches. It’s a team built on sacrifice, generosity, and a highly refined defensive structure.
Did you ever have any doubts during the World Cup?
None. Not even after the first game. I’m not really aware of what’s being said on the outside, and that gives me peace of mind. After the opening match, we knew the process was the right one. Sometimes you lack inspiration and your opponent finds it. This team kept growing little by little, improving every day. And the atmosphere was exceptional. In 52 days together, not a single problem. That’s incredibly difficult to achieve.
One thing that drew a lot of attention was your management of the changes to your team. Were those changes dictated by performances during the tournament, or were they planned in advance?
Those are the feelings you have as a coach, the instincts that guide your decisions. You start with a preferred lineup when a tournament begins, but then you evaluate the sensations, the training sessions, everything. Obviously, everything is thoroughly analyzed and studied. We have an outstanding coaching staff that provides exceptional information. At the same time, I believe there’s a sixth sense that matters in every walk of life. It gives you the judgment to make key decisions at specific moments. Everything depends on how the match unfolds. You may have a game plan, but soccer can pull you in a completely different direction. Injuries, suspensions, red cards, goals for or against, all of it can change your original plan within ten minutes. The one thing that never changes is the idea. The philosophy remains the same. We always begin with that idea, although the characteristics of individual players can shape how it looks in practice. Every player, and every coach, interprets it differently.
Did it concern you having to rely on Martín Zubimendi and Eric García in the final when neither had played a single minute in the tournament?
No, and for a simple reason: we knew they were ready. We watched them every day in training. We knew they could have started from day one if necessary. Honestly, I felt for all the players who didn’t get minutes. At Euro 2024, the only player who didn’t play was Álex Remiro. I would have loved for everyone to get on the field because they all deserved it. But I never felt compelled to play everyone merely for the sake of it. The team’s interests come first. People should also remember that in the European Championship final, Zubimendi came on at halftime and delivered a tremendous performance. He did the same the other day. And what can I say about Eric García? He’s a fantastic player as well.
Which player were you happiest for after winning the World Cup? Was Ferran Torres’ moment particularly special?
I was thrilled that Ferran scored the winning goal in the final because I try to be fair. When I see unfair criticism that’s exaggerated and, in some cases, malicious, it bothers me. Life sometimes gives you the chance to respond and prove people wrong. Ferran’s numbers with Spain are outstanding, and the same is true at club level. His goals-per-game ratio is fantastic. He reminds me a little of Álvaro Morata. I love seeing players answer injustice by saying, “Here I am.” In Ferran’s case, he earned that moment because many others would have let their heads drop and given up.
Then there’s the case of Unai Simón. It feels as though the debate surrounding him has finally been settled after this tournament.
Goalkeeper is a unique position. You can’t rotate goalkeepers the way you rotate players in other positions. It’s highly specialized. And that’s not because the others don’t deserve opportunities. We have three of the five best goalkeepers in the world, I’m convinced of that. But goalkeepers need confidence, security, consistency, continuity. The moment when all three embraced after the final? That’s exactly the kind of thing we talk about in our meetings. We discuss motivation and values. That image of the three goalkeepers embracing perfectly represents the message we’re trying to convey. Miguel Ángel España, our goalkeeping coach, places enormous emphasis on that. The message behind that image is incredibly powerful. And it’s not limited to the goalkeepers. There are no issues anywhere in the squad. [Álex] Grimaldo and [Marc] Cucurella are close friends. Pedro Porro and Marcos Llorente spend all day together.
Do you feel it was harder to win Euro 2024 than this World Cup?
They’re completely different tournaments. We know European soccer inside and out. It’s familiar. The World Cup requires a different kind of adaptation, facing African teams, South American teams, and others. For example, we had a clear idea of what the matches against Uruguay and Argentina would look like. South American soccer has its own characteristics. Our main objective was to play our game. Nobody strayed from the script or got drawn into the opponent’s style because we don’t play that kind of soccer. They would have been better than us at that game, and we probably would have lost badly. But when the match is played on our terms, that’s where we’re the best.
That takes experience, yet this Spain team is very young. Have you ever seen so much maturity from 18 or 19-year-olds?
Any player who reaches elite or world-class level at that age is special. Those of us who debuted in the top flight at that age tended to mature quickly because we had salaries, responsibilities, and professional obligations while our friends were still in high school or just beginning college. Players like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí are extraordinary. Their maturity and intelligence are remarkable. To me, they’re geniuses.
Now the praise is coming from everywhere, including other national federations that admire Spain’s model and use it as a reference point.
Those compliments reinforce an idea. This isn’t something that appeared overnight. It’s the result of years of work following the same model. We’ve stayed true to it. Of course, every coach has added his own nuances, not only with the senior team but also throughout the youth ranks, which are the most important part of the process. The foundation has always been there. The model predates me. What has changed is that it continues to evolve because soccer itself evolves. Every major tournament adds another layer. At the European Championship, for example, we shifted somewhat toward using traditional wingers. Now, transitions and pace are crucial. There used to be an almost unquestioned rule: the team with the most possession usually won. That’s no longer true. A team can have 30% possession and still beat you 3-1.
Do foreign federations come to Spain looking to learn about this model?
They’ve been doing that for a long time. England, France, Germany. For a period, Italy came very frequently. Germany also went through a phase where it had a very solid foundation similar to ours. But it’s not easy. It’s extremely complex. First, it takes many years of work. Second, it depends heavily on clubs, where outstanding coaches are developing players. Thanks to that education from a very young age, the Spanish player is the best in the world at interpreting the game.
What similarities do you see between this team and Spain’s 2010 World Cup winners? Are we still standard-bearers for ‘tiki-taka’?
Soccer has changed enormously over the last 16 years. We still have the same model, but one that has evolved. I’m not particularly fond of buzzwords or labels like ‘tiki-taka’. I understand why people use them, but I prefer the term combination soccer. At times, ‘tiki-taka’ carried a somewhat dismissive tone. That said, this philosophy is deeply ingrained in Spanish soccer. It starts at club level. The national team simply amplified it and brought it global recognition. But the idea originated with the clubs. It couldn’t be any other way, because the national team is ultimately built from their players.
There’s another squad announcement coming in September. How do you approach the future? Has any player told you he’s retiring from international soccer?
The players are performing at an extremely high level, and this is a very young team. They’re still developing and maturing. The players coming through are also very young. The future is secure. No one has told me they’re retiring after the World Cup. If anything, I think the opposite is true. But I do want to make one thing clear, and I say it with affection. The players know I have no obligations to anyone. We have exceptional relationships that go beyond soccer, but that’s separate from team selection. We’re friends. I’ve known these players since they were kids. I knew their parents and siblings. Now I know their wives and children. The relationship is extraordinary. But there are no guarantees. Nobody keeps a place in this team out of loyalty alone. Why? Because they know I’m guided by fairness and honesty. Just as I backed them in the past, the time will come when I back someone else. Take Álvaro Morata or Dani Carvajal. They’ve left an exceptional legacy, and their cycle isn’t necessarily over. If they regain top form, the door is always open. We don’t look at age. Jesús Navas was still with us at 39.
As you often say, you want players who are also good people.
Because the two things are not mutually exclusive. We spent 52 days together here, 45 days together at the Olympics, 43 days with the Under-21s. Honestly, I’d be surprised if anyone preferred not to work with good people. I think the journey is safer that way. And being a good person isn’t incompatible with talent, character, competitiveness, or toughness. People sometimes confuse those things. I feel much more secure surrounded by good people. I’ve spent so many years working in youth development that we know most of these players very well. I call them our raw material. We know who they are. We know which players won’t let you down, who won’t sulk if they spend 52 days in camp without playing a minute. We know what kind of people they are.
On a personal level, were you able to enjoy this World Cup? And are you already looking ahead to 2030?
I hope I get the chance to experience this again in four years because this World Cup was unique. The joy, the memories, the experience itself, and then sharing a success like this with an entire country. There’s nothing quite like it. As for 2030, I’m a very short-term thinker. Right now, our focus is on September. That’s what matters most to us. We only think about the next competition.
