MADRID, 18 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s soccer coach, Luis de la Fuente, said this Saturday that “the soccer player is in a maximum risk activity” due to his profession, in a calendar that “is what it is” and that he will experience a match this Sunday of Spain against Georgia, corresponding to the qualifying phase for the 2024 Euro Cup.
“The calendar is what it is, and we respect it. Obviously we have to find dates so that the competition of each country, the leagues and the international commitments coexist. At some point you have to play them. I believe that, whether it is at the end season or not, there is always a risk,” said De la Fuente from the José Zorrilla Stadium press room.
“The footballer is in a maximum risk activity and I don’t think they will get injured because they come to the national team. Surely if there had been LaLiga matches this week, unfortunately they would have also gotten injured, as happened training recently with Yeremy Pino” , warned the coach, who will not have Mikel Oyarzabal against Georgia.
In this sense, De la Fuente relativized the injuries of important players in this FIFA window. “I think we have to be understanding because here we take care of ourselves. We have always prioritized the health of a footballer over any other circumstance. I think that also, if you look at my behavior, you see it clearly,” he said in this regard.
On the other hand, he praised those within his group who “innately carry” the illusion. “They are very competitive, they want to win every day in training. You just have to look at them, they want to win even in training in any game you propose to them, and that is very good,” highlighted the ‘Roja’ coach.
In addition, he personalized his praise for the culé striker Lamine Yamal. “We have never had any doubts with him, so this is going to make him continue taking steps forward. In any case, he must also understand that to be here the demands are maximum, I believe that this is an important step in his training and in its growth,” he said.
“He is only 16 years old, he has a lot to do, a long way to go and he still has to mature a lot, which is normal, both on a professional level and on a football and human level. For us it is lucky to have a footballer of This talent is very good and he is much better accompanied by other great players around him,” he added about Yamal.
Asked again about the Zorrilla match, De la Fuente warned: “There is no formality here, this is an official match. We want to win and we want to win well. So tomorrow we are going to put the best people we understand for this match. And I’m sure that someone will also have to repeat it.”
Then he avoided comparisons with the Spanish team, two-time European champion and world champion between 2008 and 2012. “These are big words, we are on the way to building a great team, a great team. I think we have taken very important steps during this time that we have been together, and it is true that we have had merits,” he noted.
“The players have made a great effort, the Nations League was won, we are already classified for the Euro Cup and an idea, a model and a team are recognized. We are in a process, but flattery weakens us and we are not going to allow ourselves to be diverted of our objective, which we are very clear about, to continue growing day by day,” he described.
Despite everything, De la Fuente insisted that “there is work to be done” in his plan. “We want to finish tomorrow by closing this classification with another victory,” he alluded to the match against the Georgians in Valladolid. “Allow me to evaluate the work of the players, for me it is outstanding,” he continued at the press conference.
“I think it has been a good year in the relationship we have had, in the growth of the team, in the feeling of ambition and in that they want more every day. And it is a team with an impressive margin for improvement,” said De la Source before evaluating this turbulent year 2023.
“I know that this fluctuates a lot. I am happy with the work I am doing, I am satisfied, but I am also very non-conformist and I believe that we can still do much better, so we are going to try to achieve important achievements in the future by doing it every day. a little better,” he argued.
Finally, he seemed confident about next summer. “Allow me to see myself in the Euro Cup, it’s a great dream, we’ve worked a lot for it,” he told a journalist. “Everything happens in football, of course, and we all know it from the experience we have seen,” he continued.
“But come on, I don’t think the surprise is going to be that I didn’t continue. For my part and for the Federation, I think there will be all the facilities for both of us to remain happy,” De la Fuente concluded about his possible renewal.