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Spain's Alvaro Morata lifts the trophy as he celebrates with teammates after winning Euro 2024 at Berlin Olympiastadion, July 14 2024. Picture: ANGELIKA WARMUTH/REUTERS
Berlin — Spain played a perfect European Championship by winning all seven games en route to lifting the trophy on Sunday, but the players can get even better and have a great future, victorious coach Luis de la Fuente said.
“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 their fourth Euros title with a 2-1 victory over England 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.”
Spain’s bright future was illustrated perfectly by the young duo who made their first goal on Sunday, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal crossing for 22-year-old Nico Williams to fire home.
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 Euros.
“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.”
Asked about his future, De la Fuente said he assumed he would renew his contract as coach at an appropriate time.
“I’m not worried about that now, today is a day to celebrate and be happy,” he added, reflecting on the big teams Spain beat en route to their triumph including heavyweights Italy, Germany and France as well as England.
“They [Spain’s players] won this tournament with extreme security and confidence in a kind of fashion we haven’t seen many times.”
Words of joy were splashed across the front of Spanish newspapers on Monday after their country’s Euro 2024 triumph, while heartbreak was the word of the day in English ones after fans' dreams were dashed once again.
Spanish newspaper El País proclaimed: “Spain reign in Europe,” while Mundo Deportivo simply said: “Campeones” — champions — with Spain’s victorious football team sharing the front page with Spanish Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz. Spanish newspaper Sport wrote “Super Campeones”.
England’s agonising defeat was splayed across UK papers. Metro’s front page wrote in big bold black letters: “The Lions Weep Tonight,” over photos of several players with heads buried in hands in disbelief.
The Times went with the matter-of-fact: “England’s hope ends in Euros heartbreak” over a picture of a grief stricken Jude Bellingham, The Daily Mirror wrote: “SHATTERED” under a photo of captain Harry Kane consoling Bellingham, while Bellingham, head in hands, took up most of The Daily Telegraph’s front page under simply the score of the game.
A couple of papers were more positive. The Daily Express headline read: “Dream is Over... But Three Lions You Did Us Proud”, while the Daily Star similarly wrote “Lions Did Us Proud”.
France’s main sports newspaper L’Equipe celebrated the Spanish football and Wimbledon victories on Sunday with the headline “The new kings of Spain”, while Germany tabloid Bild featured Donald Trump on the front page, with “Spain won the pot” in the corner.
A major theme of England fans on social media following the loss was around Gareth Southgate, with most saying they hope he has coached his last England game.
The manager, who was criticised by fans at numerous points of the tournament despite reaching a second successive final, said Sunday evening he is undecided on his future.
Some fans were more lighthearted. One vented on social media platform X: “Someone give that football a GPS. It’s been coming home for 58 years but it keeps getting lost #itscominghome”.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
European champions Spain have more to come
Berlin — Spain played a perfect European Championship by winning all seven games en route to lifting the trophy on Sunday, but the players can get even better and have a great future, victorious coach Luis de la Fuente said.
“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 their fourth Euros title with a 2-1 victory over England 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.”
Spain’s bright future was illustrated perfectly by the young duo who made their first goal on Sunday, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal crossing for 22-year-old Nico Williams to fire home.
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 Euros.
“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.”
Asked about his future, De la Fuente said he assumed he would renew his contract as coach at an appropriate time.
“I’m not worried about that now, today is a day to celebrate and be happy,” he added, reflecting on the big teams Spain beat en route to their triumph including heavyweights Italy, Germany and France as well as England.
“They [Spain’s players] won this tournament with extreme security and confidence in a kind of fashion we haven’t seen many times.”
Words of joy were splashed across the front of Spanish newspapers on Monday after their country’s Euro 2024 triumph, while heartbreak was the word of the day in English ones after fans' dreams were dashed once again.
Spanish newspaper El País proclaimed: “Spain reign in Europe,” while Mundo Deportivo simply said: “Campeones” — champions — with Spain’s victorious football team sharing the front page with Spanish Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz. Spanish newspaper Sport wrote “Super Campeones”.
England’s agonising defeat was splayed across UK papers. Metro’s front page wrote in big bold black letters: “The Lions Weep Tonight,” over photos of several players with heads buried in hands in disbelief.
The Times went with the matter-of-fact: “England’s hope ends in Euros heartbreak” over a picture of a grief stricken Jude Bellingham, The Daily Mirror wrote: “SHATTERED” under a photo of captain Harry Kane consoling Bellingham, while Bellingham, head in hands, took up most of The Daily Telegraph’s front page under simply the score of the game.
A couple of papers were more positive. The Daily Express headline read: “Dream is Over... But Three Lions You Did Us Proud”, while the Daily Star similarly wrote “Lions Did Us Proud”.
France’s main sports newspaper L’Equipe celebrated the Spanish football and Wimbledon victories on Sunday with the headline “The new kings of Spain”, while Germany tabloid Bild featured Donald Trump on the front page, with “Spain won the pot” in the corner.
A major theme of England fans on social media following the loss was around Gareth Southgate, with most saying they hope he has coached his last England game.
The manager, who was criticised by fans at numerous points of the tournament despite reaching a second successive final, said Sunday evening he is undecided on his future.
Some fans were more lighthearted. One vented on social media platform X: “Someone give that football a GPS. It’s been coming home for 58 years but it keeps getting lost #itscominghome”.
Reuters
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