Luis de la Fuente: 'You can show humanity – that's not a weakness'

09/04/2024 04:00 PM

The Spain manager on winning Euro 2024, the psychology of modern coaching and the genius of Lamine Yamal

Luis de la Fuente is sitting in a small, unremarkable white office on the second floor of a quiet corner of the Spanish Football Federation's Las Rozas HQ, running through the qualities sought in superstar managers these days. "Obnoxious, rude, disrespectful, arrogant … it seems like the only way they take you into consideration is this thing they call 'charisma'," he says. "I don't know what that is but if you're those things they say: 'He's got charisma!' Well, then, I don't want charisma. We've shown that being normal can work, too. You don't have to be winding people up all day."

His story is a little different, the tale of a man who was 61 when he took over the Spain team, not so much low profile as almost no profile. A former full-back at Athletic Club and Sevilla, described as quiet, discreet, unknown, initially he was a little awkward in public – in conversation, by contrast, he is warm, enthusiastic, enjoyable company, charismatic in fact – and he didn't have elite experience. His only senior coaching job had been 11 third-tier games a decade earlier. Turns out, it was better that way, Spain's way.