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The Spanish seem particularly adept at frustrating their opponents. Their prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has demonstrated this in the geopolitical arena, vexing Trump repeatedly over his refusal to allow the US to use Spanish airspace for the Iran war.A few weeks later, Luis de la Fuente, the boss of their national team, expressed similar faith in his theory of ‘comradery’ to frustrate football’s superpowers – Portugal, Belgium, France and finally the ‘untouchables’, Lionel Messiis Argentina. Spain’s World Cup triumph marks the return of a soccer empire — one built not on the brilliance of superstars, but on the strength and appeal of the collective.After winning Europe in 2024, Spain’s victory in New York on Sunday two years later completed a remarkable renaissance, confirming that the country’s footballing identity had evolved rather than simply reverted.A possession-based approach to suffocating opponents into submission, pioneered by Luis Aragones, won Spain their first continental trophy in 2008, after 44 years.Then they conquered the world in 2010, riding the merry-go-round of the passing Vicente del Bosque. The 2012 summit European summit was a highlight, a delicious mix of passing creativity and penalty area sharpness. But then Spain lost its way in a fleeting conflict.Caught in a maze of possession, Spain wallowed in the mud as Del Bosque’s men failed in 2014. In Qatar 2022, enjoying 75% possession, Luis Enrique’s men failed to score in 120 minutes against Morocco! Luis de la Fuente entered. As of Sunday, Spain had yet to lose a single continental clash since the 65-year-old’s appointment four years ago. La Roja won all seven games and won Euro 2024 by scoring 15 goals. This time they won seven out of eight with one draw, scoring 14 and conceding just one. Taking advantage of a decade of nurturing Spain’s youth teams, he used his deep connections with the players he nurtured from their teenage years.
Unlike many modern international sides that revolve around one transcendent figure, Spain’s greatest strength was that no player was irreplaceable. Lamine Yamal shone, Rodri controlled, Pedri dictated the pace, Nico Williams stretched defenses, and Ferran Torres, a substitute, scored the decisive goal. However, none of them carried the burden alone. With the fate of the final uncertain, Rodri made way for Zubimendi for his first taste of the World Cup in the 99th minute. Ideas instead of icons.The architect of this revival was De la Fuente himself. He coached Spain’s under-19 team to the 2015 European title, the under-21 team to the 2019 European Championship and the Olympic team to silver in Tokyo before taking over the senior team in 2022. Many of the players who won the World Cup already learned his theorems as teenagers. The players arrived in the senior team fluent in De la Fuente’s language. The national team was simply the last stage of a long development journey.Euro 2024 offered the first glimpse of this transformation. Spain have abandoned the sterile possession stereotype that defined the final years of the Xavi-Iniesta era (2008-2012). They added speed, verticality and athleticism.Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams provided width and acceleration, while Rodri and Pedri provided control in midfield. The European title was the foundation of a larger project that reached its logical conclusion on Sunday.
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