Spain’s decade journey to Euro 2024 final
After more than a decade of heartbreak, Spain returned to the pinnacle of football by reaching the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday.La Roja were poised to dominate football for years to come, having won two European Championships in 2008 and 2012, respectively, following their World Cup victory in 2010.
However, they plummeted from favor at an amazing rate. The athletes expected to succeed their golden generation came far short.
Spain's 2014 World Cup defence ended in early humiliation, with a 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the group stage.
The two-time defending champions were ousted by Italy in the Euro 2016 last-16, with newspaper Marca declaring it "The End" for Vicente del Bosque's La Roja.
Spain lost on penalties against Russia in the same stage of the 2018 World Cup, despite completing over 1,000 passes and failing to affect the limited hosts.
A better performance in Euro 2020 propelled a young team to the semi-finals, but Morocco's 2022 World Cup last-16 defeat was another bitter exit.
However, the Spanish football organization believed the team was on the verge of reaching its goal.
They replaced coach Luis Enrique with Luis de la Fuente, who had coached national youth teams for years with great success.
Despite early concerns, notably a 2-0 defeat by Scotland last year, Spain persisted with their unknown coach and is now reaping the benefits.
De la Fuente won their first prize in 11 years by winning the Nations League last summer, promising it would only be the beginning.
La Roja proved to be the standout Euros squad, topping the toughest group, which included defending champions Italy, before defeating hosts Germany and France.
What they've accomplished appears incredible given that their lineup includes few recognisable players other than Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal, 16, will enchant the football world for years to come and may deserve that reputation, but he is only beginning his career.
Nico Williams, on the opposite flank, has also risen to prominence and could leave Athletic Bilbao this summer.
The team also includes many'misfits', such as Marc Cucurella, who struggled at Chelsea, Aymeric Laporte from Saudi Arabia, and others who are not standouts for their clubs.
However, their lack of superstars does not pose a problem. "I have 26 great players, and I'm just lucky that they are Spanish," De la Fuente remarked.
Unlike finalist England, whose coach Gareth Southgate is sometimes hesitant to replace struggling icons, or France, which is building around a subpar Kylian Mbappe, Spain believes everyone is on a similar level.
"The big difference from all the (other) countries is that we are a team, and there is no one leader above the rest," revealed Barcelona's Pedri prior to the event.
• 'Long process' -
Spain maintains possession while also releasing the explosive Yamal and Williams, firing in crosses and allowing them to take risks to beat their markers.
While other coaches could have chosen one winger and a possession-oriented midfielder on the opposite flank, the 63-year-old goes all out with both.
Luis Enrique's Spain attempted to pass teams to death, but at points during Euro 2024, La Roja had less than 50 percent possession.
De la Fuente knows his players better than most of his counterparts at the event, having coached the great bulk of them in recent years.
He won the U19 Euros with Spain in 2013, the U21 Euros in 2019, and silver in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Seven members of the starting lineup that day have previously competed in Euro 2024.
"I know the players very well, what we had available to us and we needed time to do what we are seeing now," the head coach said this past weekend.
"I'm not surprised by this. "Cooking this up is a lengthy process, but we knew the decisions and path we needed to take."
That continuity has proven critical in the international game, where coaches rarely have much time to work with their players, and it has propelled Spain back to the brink of triumph.
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