A speech with very clear guidelines but with few specifics. Luis de la Fuente introduced himself to Spanish football a few months ago but this Friday he sat down before the media after his first call and showed a good waist.
The new coach made headlines a few days ago for revealing a conversation he had with Sergio Ramos in which he told him that he was not going to count on him. Despite the absence of Camas from the list, the name of Ramos was the subject of debate in the Las Rozas press room and captured four of the first five questions from journalists. "It was a video call, a private conversation that I am not going to air. There is a new project, with new ideas and with a new team, and the bet is what it is," he limited himself to answering, repeatedly begging not to be questioned about the matter.
De la Fuente will debut next Saturday the 25th against Norway in Malaga. "Haaland is the fashionable striker in world football but Norway has great players, although what worries me the most are our players," defended the coach.
The national coach stressed several times that the names of those called up have been taken collegially with his coaching staff, whom he thanked for the work done, and also repeated that it is a "versatile" list, prepared to face many different scenarios.
For his first call-up, De la Fuente has drawn a list with many players who have been at his command in the lower categories of Spain, with whom he has been European Under-21 champion (2019) and Olympic silver (2021). "We have not looked at the past at all, we are aware of the present and the future. This list is the product of a lot of study, with the intention of creating an environment in which we are comfortable and cohesive. The key word is team", stressed the coach .
One of the proper names on the list is that of Iago Aspas, who stopped being called up with Luis Enrique. "He is a great footballer for any coach, surely he is also for my predecessor. He is in a great moment, he has different records and covers many scenarios for us," he insisted.
De la Fuente declared that he felt "very safe" with the players who have been called up. "There is not going to be any untouchable player, we have a lot of competition and those who we believe are better at all times will come."
On the system that Spain will use under his mandate, the selected one admitted that "there are some drawings that I like more but it is not something that causes me stress, the important thing is that we are faithful to an idea," he repeated.
