BERLIN (Reuters) – Spain played a perfect European Championship by winning all seven games en route to lifting the trophy on Sunday, but the players can get even better and have a great future ahead of them, victorious coach Luis de la Fuente said.
“It’s difficult to improve something like that, but I would like my players to keep growing and improving,” the 63-year-old coach said after leading Spain to their fourth Euros title with a 2-1 victory over England in Berlin.
“They are tireless, they will keep improving and trying to win. They all need to feel proud … I hope everyone feels exactly as proud about this generation of players who can make history and have a long future ahead of them.”
Spain’s bright future was illustrated perfectly by the young duo who made their first goal on Sunday, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal crossing for 22-year-old Nico Williams to fire home.
It was a sweet moment for De la Fuente, who has been working with most of his squad for over a decade when he began coaching Spain’s youth teams in 2013.
Mocked as “Luis de la Who?” when appointed to the senior team 18 months ago, he has imposed a ferociously attacking approach, moving on from the possession-based “tiki-taka” style that helped Spain win a World Cup and back-to-back Euros.
‘THEY BELIEVED IN ME’
“I try to impose of course my own idea, an idea that I knew my players could implement on the pitch,” De La Fuente said.
“We tried to be unpredictable … we wanted to control the game with more dynamic situations and quicker transitions, thanks to very fast players.
“I was sure that my players believed in me because they proved it, not now but all along this journey.
“They’ve been infallible, we’ve done practically everything right … These footballers are an example for society because of the values that they represent.”
Asked about his future, De la Fuente said he assumed he would renew his contract as coach at an appropriate time.
“I’m not worried about that now, today is a day to celebrate and be happy,” he added, reflecting on the big teams Spain beat en route to their triumph including heavyweights Italy, Germany and France as well as England.
“They (Spain’s players) won this tournament with extreme security and confidence in a kind of fashion we haven’t seen many times.”
(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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