After their premature exit in the Round of 16, ironically on penalties, to Morocco Spain decided to sack Luis Enrique after four years at the helm. They wasted no time in electing there new manager, appointing 61 year old former U21 coach Luis de la Fuente as his replacement.
While the position was linked with experienced and decorated managers such as Roberto Martinez and Marcelino, Spain have decided to enact the widely resorted to method of promoting a youth coach to the senior team. It has been highly successful for England with Gareth Southgate, who took the Three Lions to their first final in 55 years and it appears the Spanish association want a similar major change in direction with the hope of the same success.
With the acquisition of de la Fuente, Spain have made a drastic switch from the radical and eccentric managerial style of his predecessor Luis Enrique. The former Barcelona coach was renowned for innovative methods such as live twitch streaming and was a meticulous perfectionist during his stint where he allegedly made his players take 1,000 penalties after their penalty shoot-out loss at Euro 2021 in the semi finals. In addition, Enrique was a ruthless coach in his team selection and made big calls for tournaments such as dropping Spain icon Sergio Ramos and overlooking in form Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.
On the other hand, in de la Fuente they are bringing in a manager who has a close relationship with the majority of the squad and he has a proven record within the youth system. While, Enrique opted with a 4-3-3, in which his team attempted to beat the opposition by killing them with boredom with 4,000 sideway passes. de la Fuente will most likely use a 4-2-3-1 system, where he will re-introduce a fixed centre forward and will promote a more fluid and fast-paced style of football.
Who is Luis de la Fuente?
The Spaniard has been a national coach at various youth levels for nine years, starting in 2013, after previously undertaking a short stint at Alaves. He started with the U19 Spain team and in 2015 won the U19 European championships in Greece with a side consisting of current senior starters: Unai Simon, Mikel Merino, Marco Asensio and Rodri.
Then, in 2018 he became the U21 Spain head coach and found instant success when a year later he won the U19 European Championships. It is expected that the new Spain coach will be eager to bring through some of the U21 talents that he previously worked with, such as Real Sociedad starlet Martin Zubimendi and Chelsea left back Marc Cucurella.
It is this familiarity with the team and his strong understanding of the Spanish philosophy that made him the prime candidate. In 2020, he lead Spain at the Tokyo Olympics' to Silver, that team included seven first team players in the squad for this winter's recent World Cup.
It is already believed that de la Fuente, a left-back at Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla when a player, has promoted U21 goalkeeping coach Miguel Angel Espana as part of his coaching staff.
What does the future hold for Spain's senior players?
It's clear that de la Fuente is being brought in to re-build this underachieving Spain side, which was boring its fans with slow, ponderous football. However, in terms of the squad Luis Enrique has already infused youth, bringing in young talents like Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Yeremy Pino. Therefore, it appears a simple job for the new coach because he has the foundations of a highly-talented side, he just needs to re-invent the tactics and get the best out of them in tournaments.
One player that de la Fuente won't be able to select in the future is 34 year old former Spain captain Sergio Busquets , after the defensive midfielder announced his retirement on Thursday. Similarly, Spain's new manager needs to quickly decide on the futures of 36 year old Sergio Ramos and outcast David De Gea who will both be hoping to be given a clean slate under de la Fuente.
His decision to instil a centre forward will be pleasing for the likes of Alvaro Morata, Gerard Moreno and Raul De Tomas who were all sparingly used during Luis Enrique's tenure and it could be a very positive appointment for Spain's cohort of youngsters ,such as Nico Williams and Pedri, as they now have a manager who is experienced at promoting youth.
Ultimately, it is a strange and very radical decision from the Spanish FA to take a huge risk and experiment with a inexperienced manager. But, de la Fuente will be aware that he will not be afforded time and must deliver very quickly. It will either be a insignificant mistake or a huge success that sets up this team for the future.
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