Spain captain experienced depression and panic attacks‘You have another person inside that you have to fight’ Álvaro Morata says he has experienced depression and panic attacks as a result of being a professional footballer, to the point that he feared he would not be able to play in the European Championship last summer. Spain won the tournament in style, beating England in the final, with Morata the captain and focal point of Luis de la Fuente’s attack. But the 31-year-old says he has suffered as a result of the consistent criticism he has received during his career and became “embarrassed” to be seen in the street with his children. Continue reading...

The FA’s answer to Luis de la Fuente may look like a hungover Alan Shearer but it would make a lot of sense to give him the job Enter: the Carsley-verse. Look back just a couple of weeks and the Football Association’s decision to install an internal temporary replacement for the men’s senior manager, thereby delaying any permanent decision while relegitimising the architecture of the existing pathway structure, still felt like an act of such mind-numbing dullness that even reading these words now is likely to induce a form of narcolepsy, insomnia, haunted dreams, night terrors. Cut back to this weekend and that trial appointment has already achieved one significant thing, specifically lending a mild air of jeopardy and intrigue to an otherwise unwanted back-to-school September international break. Continue reading...

The Spain manager on winning Euro 2024, the psychology of modern coaching and the genius of Lamine Yamal Luis de la Fuente is sitting in a small, unremarkable white office on the second floor of a quiet corner of the Spanish Football Federation’s Las Rozas HQ, running through the qualities sought in superstar managers these days. “Obnoxious, rude, disrespectful, arrogant … it seems like the only way they take you into consideration is this thing they call ‘charisma’,” he says. “I don’t know what that is but if you’re those things they say: ‘He’s got charisma!’ Well, then, I don’t want charisma. We’ve shown that being normal can work, too. You don’t have to be winding people up all day.” His story is a little different, the tale of a man who was 61 when he took over the Spain team, not so much low profile as almost no profile. A former full-back at Athletic Club and Sevilla, described as quiet, discreet, unknown, initially he was a little awkward in public – in conversation, by contrast, he is warm, enthusiastic, enjoyable company, charismatic in fact – and he didn’t have elite experience. His only senior coaching job had been 11 third-tier games a decade earlier. Turns out, it was better that way, Spain’s way. Continue reading...

An ecstatic Luis de la Fuente, coach of Spain's senior national team, said his country's football should be more highly valued after the under-23 side's triumph in the final of the Olympic tournament against France on Friday.

Spain's 5-3 win over France to capture the Olympic gold medal has capped off what has already been an impressive summer for the country's sporting program.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said after winning Euro 2024: "We've caught up with the demands of modern football." Now a new era of dominance beckons.

Coach Luis de la Fuente celebrated Spain's history-makers and warned there is still more to come after they became the first team to win the European Championships four times by beating England 2-1 in Sunday's final at the Olympiastadion.

This Spain team is very different from the one that romped to victory at Euro 2012, but it had a rock-solid identity and plan fostered by an unheralded manager who'd coached La Roja all the way up the ladder.

Luis de la Fuente’s side were manifestly superior and had a sense of togetherness that took them to Euro 2024 glory The explosion came at 22.45 in Berlin, a new beginning. A dozen men and one kid, all of them wearing yellow bibs, were suddenly sprinting along the home straight where Jesse Owens once ran. They set off from the bench and screeched towards the corner to meet Mikel Oyarzabal, the substitute who, with four minutes left in this final, had scored the goal that made Spain European champions, another generation to go with the golden one. In front of a sea of red, they lost their heads, and why wouldn’t they? Soon they returned to their bench, or the white box painted in front of it, a short but anxious wait to confirm that they would lift that trophy again. Álvaro Morata was in tears already. The man who said he would cut his arm off to win this, the captain they couldn’t love more, raised it to the sky, sharing this with them like he shares everything. Justice was done, history too. For Spain, it is a record four times: 1964, 2008, 2012 and now 2024. For Jesús Navas, the last man standing from the team that won the World Cup, aged 38, it was a second. For the rest, it was a first, which made it so special. Continue reading...

Thousands of flag-wearing football supporters fill Plaza de Colón as nation hopes for victory in Euro final Whatever the Plaza de Colón in central Madrid lacks in elegance or romance, it more than makes up for in patriotic fervour and outsized vexillological allure. By 8pm local time on Sunday, the square was filling with thousands of spectators who were congregating around a giant screen to cheer on Spain as La Roja prepared to battle England to clinch a fourth Euro title. Continue reading...

All the latest as we count down to tonight’s finalTactical breakdown: where the final will be won and lostGet in touch! Email Xaymaca | Golden Boot standings But, if like me, you want to know how England can beat Luis de la Fuente’s Spain team, read Jonathan Wilson’s tactical breakdown here: Let’s be honest, Spain have played the best football at this year’s tournament but England have produced the biggest moments when it mattered most. To quote Jimmy Bullard, whatever happens tonight, “football is always the winner.” Continue reading...

Coach was not considered an exciting appointment but he has delivered silverware and now another final The night before Spain’s first game at Euro 2024, Josko Gvardiol was asked something about Luis de la Fuente, to which he replied: “Who?” Croatia’s press officer came to his rescue but if the defender felt a bit embarrassed, the truth is that back then he wouldn’t have been alone in not instantly recognising the name, or knowing much about the coach of the selección, their opponents the following day. It hadn’t been all that long since even some in Spain might have said something similar. Born in Haro, La Rioja, which he reckons is the best place on Earth, De la Fuente is proud to be Spanish, Catholic and a bullfighting ­aficionado. He likes eggs and chips, is built like a brick outhouse and sleeps around four hours a night. His dad was a sailor, he loves the Rocky films and he’s fascinated by Rome, reading everything he can. He’s into Julio Iglesias, and his favourite song is probably Quijote. He led Spain to their first trophy in more than a decade and now, a month on from that press conference and in the same stadium, he takes them into the final of Euro 2024. Continue reading...

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente rejected the idea that his side are the favourites to win Sunday's European Championship final against England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Spain have been standout team during tournamentDe la Fuente: ‘If we are not focused, we won’t win’ Luis de la Fuente said “favourites are for the bookmakers” as the Spanish manager attempted to play down growing expectations of his side before the European Championship final. Spain have been the standout team of Euro 2024 so far, beating Croatia, Italy, Germany and France in dazzling style on the road to their match-up against England in Berlin. But the head coach was at pains to point out that the final will be one between “equals” and warned that their winning streak could break “at any time”. Continue reading...