More to come for European champions Spain, says coach Luis de la Fuente

BERLIN – Spain played a perfect European Championship by winning all seven games en route to lifting the trophy on July 14, but the players can get even better, said victorious coach Luis de la Fuente.

“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 a record fourth European Championship title with a 2-1 victory over England at the Olympiastadion 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 in the final, Lamine Yamal, 17, crossing for the 22-year-old Nico Williams to fire home in the 47th minute.

“Lamine is incredible, no? He won Young Player of the Tournament, he’s showing it day to day. I don’t think he’s got a ceiling,” said Williams, himself named Player of the Match in the final. “He’s a very good person too.”

“This is the best (birthday) present I could have, it’s a dream,” added Yamal, after winning the first trophy of his fledgling career a day after turning 17.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored La Roja’s winner in the 86th minute, 13 minutes after substitute Cole Palmer equalised for England.

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 Euro crowns.

“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.”

Ominously for Spain’s rivals, they have won the Golden Boy gong – which recognises the best Under-21 player in Europe – in three of the last four years and only the most recent winner Yamal featured in the final.

Gavi, 19, missed the tournament after suffering a bad knee injury in November, while Pedri, 21, was injured in the quarter-finals. Other starlets such as Pau Cubarsi, 17; Alejandro Balde, 20; and Yeremy Pino, 21; did not make the squad.

While Yamal was named the Young Player of the Tournament, Manchester City midfielder Rodri picked up the Player of the Tournament award.

Back in Spain, chants and car horns filled the streets, with ecstatic fans celebrating their first major title since Euro 2012.

The Spanish joy contrasted with the disappointment of the huge number of English fans gathered in several tourist spots in Spain to watch the game, such as the coast city of Benidorm.

Having fallen short at the final hurdle for a second straight Euro, England manager Gareth Southgate was asked whether he would continue in the job.

The 53-year-old said: “I totally understand the question and understand you need to ask it, but I need to have those conversations with important people behind the scenes and I’m obviously not going to discuss that publicly first.

“Without a doubt, England have got some fabulous young players. We have now been consistently back in the matches that matter. It’s the last step that we haven’t been able to do.”

England – with only the 1966 World Cup to their name as a major trophy – have become a force in tournaments since Southgate took over the team at a low ebb in 2016.

They reached a semi-final and a quarter-final at the last two World Cups as well as the final of Euro 2020 – where they lost to Italy on penalties – and 2024. REUTERS, AFP