Everything is like a bullfight for Spain manager Luis de la Fuente. He calls himself Torino – a bullfighting tragic. Every year, he arrives at the annual bullfighting fare in the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, the cathedral of the deadly sport. When he was appointed manager of La Rosa three years ago, he thought, “Well, this is big bull.” Four years later, a European Championship, and a World Cup semi-final, the first since Spain’s victory in 2010, he is like a seasoned matador who takes every bull by its horns.
Every win for Spain in the knockout stages is like a bullfight without the bloodshed. Like men in spangly suits, Spain’s men lead their fighters around the ring, angering and exhausting them, weakening them with their aggressive pressure and mix of passes, before pinning them for submission.
If the 2010 winners were a manifestation of a profound but enduring philosophy, De La Fuente’s group is a triumph of tactical flexibility, the tactics he has crafted like wax, his reliance on the personnel at his disposal, their form, fitness, their opponents, strengths and weaknesses. He is not a thinker, but more like a self-punishing philosopher who is not afraid to rebel against his own ideas, tweak, tweak and polish.
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For Belgium’s quarterfinal — a 2-1 victory that was neither a tour nor a trek — he omitted Pedri, his midfield cornerstone and highly technical operator. He drafted Fabian Ruiz, an excellent footballer himself, but brings a more physical presence and a more direct goal-scoring threat. Belgium, he knew, could succumb to high pressure and a buzzing Ruiz took advantage. Ruiz caused Belgium to lose possession several times in transition. He pounced on the rebound to score the opening goal. Pedri is not a position to occupy naturally, as he organizes play from deeper positions in the Barcelona tradition and creates midfield overload. Ruiz, modeled on PSG’s ideals, provided the fluidity of the position, with the Belgian midfielder running in sixes and sevens.
But after Belgium equalized and the midfield’s dominance began to wane, Ruiz himself looked irritated, replacing him with Pedri. They took immediate control. Spain’s midfield narrowed, the wide-men began stabbing inside, the backline drew a high line and the game settled into an oval patch near the Belgium goalmouth. Spain used their one-touch passing, drawing triangles and squares and allowing Belgium to lose possession of the ball. A rare Belgian breakthrough hit a red wall and bounced back. Spain was attacking, yet defending; Spain was defending yet attacking. It is this rich balance that is the essence of Spain’s renaissance under de la Fuente. Danny Olmo described it in simple words: “All 11 attack; all 11 defense.”
A defender, Pau Qubarsi, attacked, his pile-driver from 30 yards forcing a save from Semme Lamens which Mikel Merino made. Cubarsi brings the ball out, he filters the pass and is not shy to score.
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Spain coach Luis de la Fuente gives his team a pep talk ahead of the World Cup 2026. (AP)
In some ways, his team resembles an incongruous hotchpotch of footballers from different schools of Spanish football. Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward-designate, is not a classical target-man or false nine. He’s not supersonic, docile in the air, but has the tactical intelligence to sneak through defenses and the ability to wander unnoticed. “Oyarzabal is a very intelligent person,” de la Fuente said when asked about the player’s qualities. “You see it in his game, his intelligence and his interpretation of the game. He is one of the best players.”
The three behind him are equally diverse. Dani Olmo is a playmaker, more in the neo-classical mode than the old one. Alex Bayna is an inside forward and Lamina Yamal is a modern winger who can tear down the flanks as well as switch wings. He certainly had his best day of the tournament, but has yet to cut down on Euro’s nauseating pitches. His form and the fitness of Nico Williams forced the manager to tone down the verticality and directness that Spain displayed at the Euros. Williams had a cameo from the bench and if he and Yamal both dust off the Euro touch, he could move back to the wider formations. To complement the Rolls Royce centre-back, he has two bulldozers as full-backs.
It is the magnificent versatility of his sides. De la Fuente can support his team in midfield, in the best Spanish tradition; He can make wingers his central plot device; He can bring his team to his backline and still produce attractive football. The key character he looks for in players is not just their technical ability but their emotional intelligence.
“A footballer is not a footballer just because of his quality,” he said. “There are 1,000 other factors as well. Technically you may be very good but [young players] Not so good if they don’t have emotional control over the situation; That really makes a difference,” he added.
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It helps him identify qualities in players as well as build relationships that he has coached most of the youth team.
A father figure
Rodri, Unai Simon and Merino were among the eleven players who won the Under-19 Euros in 2015. Four years later, he guided a team of Fabian Ruiz, Olmo and Oyarzabal to claim the Under-21 Euros. Ferran Torres, Pedri and Marc Cuquerella have all been managed by him at either the Under-19s or Under-21s. “It was like going back to our younger days,” Rodri once said.
Rather than an autocratic, dogmatic manager, he is a gentle patriarch who doesn’t torture players with long Power-Point presentations. Players relax by playing chess and la pocha, the Spanish card game, or cycling or golfing in the countryside. “He is a great listener, a kind man,” Unai Simon once said.
After each match, he sends a message to non-team personnel such as groundsmen, security personnel or kitchen staff. Sometimes, he also gives them small gifts. He is bringing big trophies to his country and it is safe to say that he tamed the “big bull” he feared.