There is no room for random decisions. This is how De La Fuente fooled the competition

In major tournaments, many coaches prefer to maintain stability and rely on a fixed line-up, but Luis de la Fuente chose a completely different path at the World Cup. The Spain coach didn’t hesitate to change his squad from one game to the next, and he made bold changes before and during matches, putting the interest of the team ahead of the players’ names, even when it came to the biggest stars. This tactical boldness gave “La Roja” different solutions and helped them to reach the crucial stages of the tournament.

De la Fuente’s tactical interventions were present throughout Spain’s World Cup campaign. He has used the same starting line-up only once since the start of the tournament, while his decisions regarding substitutions, both before and during matches, have played a decisive role in making the difference.

After the win over Belgium, the first question for the Spanish coach was about replacing Pedri and bringing on Fabian Ruiz, a move that has sparked much controversy. However, De La Fuente defended his decision, saying: “The most important thing is the team. Each player has his role in the match.”

“The replacement of Pedri can only be explained by our desire to give the team another dimension when we needed a new dose of vitality through Fabian, who is also a great player. It’s a team effort and it doesn’t matter who participates more. We are happy to have reached this stage, but we are aiming for more.”

This change embodied De La Fuente’s new philosophy in the tournament, one based on continuous interference and not sticking to the set, to the point where it was reportedly described as “De La Fuente 2.0”. newspaper”come on“Spanish.

In contrast, his approach to the European Championship was smoother. With the exception of the last group game against Albania, which saw extensive rotation thanks to securing qualification, only two forced changes were made. The first, when Dani Carvajal replaced Jesus Navas after the former was suspended, and the second, when Dani Olmo replaced his partner Pedri after an injury in the quarter-finals.

As for the rest of the squad, it was largely unchanged as Unai Simon, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucuria, Fabian Ruiz, Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Neko Williams and Alvaro Morata all started with very limited changes. But the World Championship presented a completely different version of the Spanish coach.