Luis de la Fuente is not surprising. Continuous when it comes to drawing up the squad list with which Spain will fight for what has never been seen in Germany, winning a fourth European Championship; discreet when he has to teach his way of leading the group of players. “The leader does not impose himself, the leader attracts. We prefer that the leader be the team. Individual talent has to be at the service of the team. That is what we want to promote,” highlighted the La Roja coach. De la Fuente’s low profile contrasts with that of his predecessor, Luis Enrique. He changes the skin of the bench but not the team, always with the same idea of the game, now with Rodri as the boss on the field, surrounded by the untouchables for the coach: Unai Simón, Carvajal, Dani Olmo and Morata. “With Álvaro I have zero doubts,” the coach highlighted about the Atlético forward, the day he announced the 29 players he will have in Las Rozas until June 7. That day, he will have to rule out three players to close the final list for Germany.
De La Fuente did not surprise, but he did leave some news on his list. The most striking was that of Ayoze, the experienced 30-year-old Canarian winger, who jumped from Tenerife to the Premier (Newcastle and Leicester) and who this season scored nine goals for Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis. First call-up to the senior team for Ayoze, the same as for the young Barcelona youth squad, Fermín López (21 years old). “I am left with the illusion of him, in addition to the talent. They are very versatile. Fermín is going to take a leap with this call,” he explained. “What do I expect from them?” he added; “let it be them. And that they demonstrate all the potential they have, always at the service of the team.” Less impact was caused by the call-ups of Baena (two games in the Absolute, 13 in the U21, all with De la Fuente on the bench) and that of Aleix García, who made his debut for Spain against Cyprus on November 16. “We hope they continue to grow, that they play as they have been doing all season. We are celebrating being able to count on these types of players and have such an important and high-level group,” he remarked. Of these four players, only one will be in Germany.
It was not so simple, in any case, to rule out in extremis to footballers of more pedigree. As were the cases of Marco Asensio, Lucas Vázquez and Gerard Moreno and, to a lesser extent, Sancet and Sarabia. Lucas Vázquez left an enigmatic comment on social networks after De La Fuente’s call: two little faces laughing out loud. “I admire Asensio. “We are going to focus on those who are here and put value in them,” the coach justified. And he added: “We make a list of 29, which could have been 30 or 31, to guarantee any setback that may occur in the Champions League final or in training and cause problems for us. “We are going to minimize the risks, we have very versatile players.” Careful to call up footballers for whom their discard does not cause any trauma, always with the idea of taking care of the group.
“We feel like a family, with a very strong bond. Good people, good people. I have formed a very united, cohesive group, it is a good base to begin a journey as difficult as this,” highlighted De la Fuente. Few represent in such a symbolic way the union that the coach seeks as Jesús Navas: “Jesus was born to be an international player. He never fails.” An award for football and leadership, a case similar to that of Nacho, again, in La Roja: “Nacho is a sure value. He was already with us and has been champion of the Nations. We celebrate that Nacho is playing in the Champions League and that he plays as well as he has done so far. And I hope Madrid wins it.”
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