The Spanish men’s soccer coach, Luis de la Fuente, has stressed that his country “has always had a great team” and that “the difference is that now we win everything”, in the wake of their victory (3-2) this Monday against Switzerland on the sixth and final day within Group A4 in the Nations League, a tournament where Spain defends the title.
“Before it was also a great team. Spain has always had a great team, the difference is that now we win everything. But in Spain we are used to always competing for the best and to obtain great results. Now, without thinking about the past because I don’t worry about it, I think more about the present and the future,” said De la Fuente from the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium.
“I am proud to be Spanish, to have fans like we have had here in the Canary Islands, in Tenerife, and to experience the national team as we are experiencing it. That makes me feel very proud, of course, I am also tremendously proud of some players who “I have already said on some occasions that they are insatiable in terms of sport, they want to compete every day, they want to improve, they want to grow,” he added at a press conference.
“Whoever you put, whoever you choose, it is an example of camaraderie, of generosity, of raising the level of competitiveness. I am proud of many things and especially for leading a team like ours and with wonderful expectations,” stood out.
“It is true that we needed and wanted to finish the year for us competitively with a victory, which was nothing more than endorsing all the good, the fantastic that we have experienced throughout this year for us throughout this course and because, believe me, when you get used to it It’s hard to win not to do it. And these players, in line with the previous question, are that they always want to win,” he argued.
“You have to see how they train, you have to see them on a day-to-day basis and today we wanted, I insist, to finish because they also deserved an environment like the one we have experienced, so wonderful, so warm, so welcoming. They also deserved to live a victory for the national team and, well, we have fought a lot to achieve it and the truth is that we are happy for it,” insisted the Riojan coach.
Despite everything, De la Fuente warned that he has a task ahead of him. “There is no time, there is a lot of work to do. I believe that, you know how I think, you can always improve and we want to continue improving. And for that we need not to let our guard down, we need to continue watching games, watching players, watching footballers who are demanding also opportunities and having a place in this magnificent team. There are many footballers that we must continue to watch and that monitoring makes us travel a lot, watch many games,” he explained.
“Be careful, having said that, it seems like we are working in the mine. But it is a luxury, we enjoy it, we are happy doing our work and this wonderful work of ours. That is why we feel privileged, because it does not force us, it simply leads us to continue.” in the same dynamic and demand more from ourselves, because what the players need is to be certain that everything we give them, all the information we give them, helps them to be better and win, and we also need to demand a lot from ourselves, so we still have to work a lot,” repeated the Spain coach.
Then he downplayed the penalty missed by Pedri. “Evidently he is part of the family, our family, and he knows that he has the affection not only of me, of the entire coaching staff, of all the collaborators, the entire work group and of course of his colleagues. I think it is important that we reflect “the detail of generosity that Álvaro Morata has had, another greatness of a great footballer and great person, with a player that he loved today, it was a very special day for him and we were all hoping he would score a goal,” he admitted.
“We were very happy with Yeremy’s goal and of course the others too, but today we were wishing that Pedri, because of the special day it was, would have that opportunity. He knows that here all mistakes are forgiven, we play calmly “, with confidence, with security because we all made mistakes here and it was not a mistake, it was making the decision to shoot it and the goalkeeper was right. Pedri was fantastic and we also celebrated it,” he added.
He also assessed the possible rivals in the quarterfinals. “I reiterate what we said yesterday, is that these semi-finals are the semi-finals of a Euro Cup. There are the same teams, we are the same teams with the same players, with the same desire to win. It is a very tough, demanding competition and there is to put into value. Nothing could be further from it being a second level competition,” he added.
He also spoke about the option of hosting a possible Final Four of this tournament in Spain. “I would undoubtedly love to play in a competition in our country, with the fans dedicated, as they are currently. I would love to, I wish we had the possibility of… Well, first we would have to qualify for the Final Four. Of course, get through the quarterfinals, which It’s not going to be easy. But of course, if we had that possibility, of course I would like it,” he confessed.
Then he praised Marc Casadó. “Let’s put the reality of his situation in context. A player who has played a game and a half, and plays like a veteran. A confidence, a security, he transmits football, he transmits control of the situation… Come on, he has played a game to frame, He has been fantastic. His behavior is one of continuing to grow and continue to improve. I never cease to be amazed every time I see him and how he behaves at 20, 21 years old. And, of course, another great news for the footballer. , for his club and, of course, for Spanish football and for the Spanish team,” De la Fuente celebrated.
“This is nothing more than also a demand that we value the Spanish footballer, who are the best footballers in the world. I always say it, it is my opinion, but that they need opportunity, security, opportunities, and they never fail. This phrase You have already heard it from me many times, but I think it is proven that it is so,” he stressed.
“Here we have to continue building and breaking stone. We are happy because it is recognition of the work, a job well done by everyone, especially the footballers, who are the true architects of this success. Of course, the entire group of work, the coaching staff is fantastic, wonderful, the best I can find, and of course from all of us who make up this thing we call family: all the collaborators, press, marketing, physios, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera”, listed the coach of the ‘Red’.
“But this is work, work, work and more work. And now what is most difficult, when one reaches a level, is maintaining it. We have to fight to maintain it because we want to be there for a long time and continue consolidating this position. We still have “It remains until we reach number one, but I believe that the first stones have been laid to achieve it in the future,” concluded the Spain coach.