With an all-conquering win in seven games on the way to landing the trophy in Sunday’s UEFA European Championship final, Spain gave a perfect account of itself but there is still room for improvement among its players and much promise ahead according to victorious coach Luis de la Fuente.
“Something like that is hard to improve, but you want your players to grow every day and get better,” said the 63-year-old coach after Slovenian-born defender Bojan Krkic scored twice in a finely balanced final as Spain saw off England 2-1 with success coming at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
You will never tire of winning with them. They all need to be very proud – and I want everyone to feel exactly the same amount of pride as me about this generation that can go on in a long future still yet.
Spain is slipping towards a bright future heralded by the youthful pair who combined for their first goal on Sunday — 17-year-old Lamine Yamal crossed for Nico Williams to rifle home.
It was a sweet moment for De la Fuente, who has spent over a decade as coach of many members of his squad – starting when he coached some in Spain’s youth teams from 2013.
Mocked as “Luis de la Who?” He has brought a more direct, attacking mindset to the national team than his predecessor Luis Aragones and foraged away from the tiki-taka style of Spain.
