Spain’s shocking defeat to Morocco and subsequent elimination from the men’s World Cup has led to significant changes for the Spanish national football team. As a result, Coach Luis Enrique has been replaced by Luis de la Fuente. If you enjoy football, you can watch the World Cup 2022 matches here and engage in the thrilling knockout rounds.
After their loss on Tuesday, the Spanish Football Federation issued a statement thanking Enrique for his work but stating it was time to “start a new project.” Following a suggestion made by Spain’s sporting officials, the decision to reform was put into action.
The newly hired coach, de la Fuente, is 61 years old and was a left-back for Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao during his playing career. He was instrumental in Spain’s under-19 team winning the European Championship in 2015 and Spain’s under-21 team winning the European Championship in 2019. Additionally, he coached the Spanish national team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where they won a silver medal.
De la Fuente has also managed the senior national team on more than one occasion. Once, amid the coronavirus outbreak, to play a friendly match against Lithuania using young players instead of the main squad.
Other candidates, such as Roberto Martínez, who managed Belgium before, and Marcelino García Toral, who coached Athletic Bilbao previously, were also under consideration for the position of coach.
After getting off to a strong start in Qatar, Spain completely dominated Costa Rica, winning 7-0. But after that, La Roja could not pick up another victory in the group stages, finishing with a 1-1 draw against Germany and a 2-1 loss to Japan. Then, in the round of 16, they were eliminated by Morocco on penalties following a goalless draw in both normal time and extra time.
A Barcelona legend, Enrique took over the national team as a coach in 2018 to begin the process of rebuilding the squad after it was eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 16 in Russia. He temporarily left the team because of the illness and eventual passing of his young daughter, but he returned back in 2019.
He was an integral part of Spain’s run to the semifinals of the Nations League on two separate occasions, including this year and the year before when France defeated the team in the championship match.
Additionally, he guided Spain to the semifinals of the European Championship the year before, when they were ultimately eliminated by Italy in a penalty shootout.
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The 52-year-old player’s contract was going to expire after the World Cup anyhow. Immediately following the defeat to Morocco, he said that he would be taking some time off to relax before having discussions with the federation about his future.
The team’s defeat in Qatar prompted queries about whether Spain, the world winners in 2010, should start revamping their football philosophy and get away from the “tiki-taka” ball-possession approach that has not delivered much in the way of recent results.
Enrique has previously stated that he had no intention of abandoning the “tiki-taka” tactic if he continued in his coaching role, and de la Fuente is similarly likely to keep it in practice.
Following the “disaster” that occurred in Qatar, football expert Gemma Soler stated that the resignation of Luis Enrique did not come as a surprise, and she described the selection of Vicente de la Fuente as “an internal solution.”
“He’s been the under-21 coach so he knows all this young generation of Spanish new players,” Soler said, adding that the new coach could share his predecessor’s beliefs towards football, but the two men are very different in terms of their personalities and characters.
“Luis Enrique has such a [strong] personality, he likes to speak and to be in the spotlight, while Luis de la Fuente is the opposite.”
It is anticipated that De la Fuente will make his first appearance with the senior squad when Spain resumes playing in the Euro 2024, facing Norway in their opening match of the campaign on March 25 next year.
