'De la Fuente knew Spain were special - a nation now agrees'

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was recently asked why he crossed himself before a game if he isn't superstitious.

"When people ask me if I'm superstitious, I say no - I have faith," he replied.

"I am religious because I have decided to be. I come from a religious family, but throughout my life I have had many doubts and I have been far from religious.

"But at one point in my life, I decided to get closer to it and rely on God for everything I do. Without God, nothing in life makes sense."

His faith is not limited to his belief in a higher power, but also defines his relationship with his Spain squad, a lot of whom he has known for many years and a group he trusts implicitly.

Throughout Euro 2024 he has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the media. A calm, softly spoken, scrupulously polite, seemingly ego-free individual, he refers to every journalist by their forename.

The only time he has veered slightly off the script he has controlled throughout the tournament was after the France game when he gently chided journalists for ever having doubted them.

He did so because he has always been convinced his group is special and some of the best players in the world, and he has never understood why some could not see it.

'A company man who survived'

Since his appointment in December 2022 after the Qatar World Cup, this is the first squad to be selected exclusively by him and his backroom team.

When Spain won the Nations League in 2023 they did so effectively with former coach Luis Enrique's side.

This is a squad built on the foundations of those players De la Fuente has worked with over the past 11 years he has been with the Spanish football federation (RFEF), the base of which comes from the U19s and U21s victories in previous European Championships.

In 2015 he won the European Under-19 Championship with a team that included the likes of Rodri and Mikel Merino in central midfield.

Then in 2019 the side that won the European Under-21 title included in its ranks Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal and Fabian Ruiz.

He also won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics with a team that included Marc Cucurella, Pedri, Unai Simon and once again Merino, Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo.

Players he has been in touch with throughout their careers, through good times and bad.

Add to that the sparkle of the likes of birthday boys Lamine Yamal (13 July) and Nico Williams (12 July), whose combined age of 39 is now greater - just - than that of the veteran of the squad, 38-year-old Jesus Navas, the last remaining link to the great Spain sides from 2008 to 2012.

One of De la Fuente's qualities is his adaptability. He was chosen because he could add different layers to a side that became obsessed with possession.

But it wasn’t always a smooth ride. Along the way he has had to make difficult and not always popular decisions, and also survive one error of judgement.

When he, and others, gave former RFEF president Luis Rubiales a standing ovation when he announced at a rapidly convened meeting that he would not resign over kissing player Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Women's World Cup, it could have cost him his job.

De la Fuente was caught very much between a rock and a hard place, entering the room not being sure of what was being displayed in front of him, and now recognises he took the wrong decision.

He is very much a 'company man' - a civil servant of the RFEF if you like - and behaved as he was supposed to.

But he survived.

'De la Fuente's three leaders'

The first major decision he had to make concerned the possible reintroduction of Sergio Ramos that was being hyped by much of the Madrid-based pro-Ramos media.

De la Fuente is well aware of the need for captains on the pitch - but he quickly made it clear Ramos was not going to be one of them, no matter how he performed at club level. He put his faith in three others.

Alvaro Morata is not particularly warrior-like, nor overly charismatic, but rather more introverted, sensitive and concerned about dedicating himself to the team's welfare. A perfect frontman to help with team unity.

His general on the pitch is Rodri, almost certainly the best holding midfielder in the world. In defence, the captain's role is taken by incessantly talking motivator Aymeric Laporte.

Three captains, three leaders with totally different personalities with perhaps one major thing in common, namely, that when available, they are the first names on De la Fuente's teamsheet.

'Winning mentality born from detail'

Inside De la Fuente's calm and quiet demeanour lies a winning gene. It is worth noting that in every tournament he has been at the helm Spain have at least reached the semi-finals.

More importantly he recognises those among him who are also winners and what makes a team winners.

Much of it is in the detail.

After every game he always insists on a team picture, by which he means a picture of everyone.

He believes the whole staff, physios, assistant coaches and kit managers play their part. This is not just about the superstars on the pitch, but the whole team.

De la Fuente's chief assistant is Pablo Amo, a former Sporting Gijon and Deportivo centre-back, and the person who speaks most to the players on the pitch.

He has also added more data as a greater analysis of his rivals' style of play, although rather than over-concentrating on their rivals, De la Fuente and Pablo Amo prepare the games on what they believe to be their strengths.

'A good person more important than a good player'

The impressive victory against Italy in the group stage caused many to finally start believing in De la Fuente.

Against Germany in the quarter-finals, after making substitutions that looked for control instead of a second goal and encouraged the hosts to push on until they forced extra time, the manager's speech before the following half hour was decisive.

"The game starts from scratch," he said. "We forget everything that has happened in the 90 minutes before. We want the ball and we are better. And above all, we are going to help our team-mates”.

After the Germany game the group got together, had a few drinks, chilled out, did some karaoke, where he gave by all accounts a passable rendition of a Julio Iglesias hit.

The essence of his philosophy is that this is not just a national side, but fundamentally a united team of players who know and trust one another, and always fight each other’s corner.

And the starting rule for that is that he prefers a good person rather than a good player in his squad, for the simple reason that a good person will go the extra mile for their team-mate, accept being left on the bench and give his very best when called upon to do so.

He congratulated Yamal for his goal against France but actually praised him as highly for his actions in 'taking one for the team' when he stopped Theo Hernandez late in the game, getting a yellow card in return.

Conversely when Dani Olmo was scolded by the youngster for failing to track back during a France attack, he was quick to remind Yamal that what was needed in such situations was encouragement and positivity.

He is also much more insistent than previous Spanish coaches in his demand for his midfielders and forwards to take more shots.

He believes the more you shoot, the more chances you have to score for a side that is not free-scoring or does not have a great finisher.

'England need to win - Spain desire it'

It feels as though England need to win on Sunday, while Spain desire it.

England will have a deep analysis of a defeat, verging on a crisis, while Spain will move on to Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe presentation on Tuesday, obsessed as we are about football clubs more than the national side.

There is an expectation in England, having been given this chance, that they will win Euro 2024. Spain feels their side have all it takes to win.

There will be big screens in towns and villages throughout Spain as they watch De la Fuente's side attempt to bring the European Championship trophy back to the country for the first time in 12 years.

Win or lose against England in Berlin tonight, the future bodes well for Spanish football.

Victory this time for a team that has been humble, engaging, brave and attractive throughout the tournament will be different in the streets.

It will be a new dawn to a generation of football fans, until now continually fed a Spanish footballing diet centred on Real Madrid and Barcelona, who had grown tired of the controversies, or disinterested in the game.

Now you see many shirts of Yamal and Williams in province capitals and villages.

Meanwhile, every now and then, De la Fuente will remind everyone that the real star of his team is just that - the team.