The Spanish seem to be particularly adept at frustrating their opponents. Its prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, has demonstrated this on the geopolitical field, harassing Trump repeatedly for his refusal to let the United States use Spain’s airspace for the Iran war.Weeks later, Luis de la Fuente, head of his national team, expressed similar faith in his theory of “camaraderie” to frustrate football’s superpowers – Portugal, Belgium, France and finally “untouchables”. Lionel MessiIt is Argentina. Spain’s World Cup triumph marks the return of a football empire – one built not on the brilliance of superstars, but on the power and appeal of the collective.After conquering Europe in 2024, Spain’s victory on Sunday in New York two years later completed a remarkable renaissance, confirming that the country’s football identity has evolved rather than simply returned.The possession-based approach to suffocating the opposition into submission, pioneered by Luis Aragones, had won Spain its first continental trophy in 2008, after 44 years.Then, they conquered the world in 2010, riding on the carousel that passed by Vicente del Bosque. The re-scaled European summit in 2012 was the high point, a delicious mix of passing creativity and penalty box sharpness. But then, Spain lost its way in a passing distortion.Caught in the maze of possession, Spain turned into the quagmire as Del Bosque’s men failed in 2014. In Qatar 2022, enjoying 75% possession, Luis Enrique’s boys did not score in 120 minutes against Morocco! Enter Luis de la Fuente. On Sunday, Spain have yet to lose any of their continental matches since the 65-year fixture four years ago. La Roja won all seven games to claim Euro 2024 with 15 goals. This time, they won seven out of eight with a draw, scoring 14 and conceding just one. Drawing on a decade of nurturing Spain’s youth teams, he used his deep connections with players he had nurtured since their teenage years.
Unlike many modern international sides that revolve around a transcendent figure, Spain’s greatest strength was that no player was indispensable. Lamine Yamal dazzled, Rodri controlled, Pedri dictated the time, Nico Williams stretched the defenses and Ferran Torres, a substitute, brought the decisive goal. Yet none of them bore the burden alone. With the fate of the final still in doubt, Rodri made way for Zubimendi for his first taste of the World Cup in the 99th minute. Ideas about icons.The architect of this resurrection was De la Fuente himself. I coached Spain’s Under-19s to the European title in 2015, the Under-21s to the European Championship in 2019, and the Olympic team to silver in Tokyo before taking charge of the senior team in 2022. Many of the players who lifted the World Cup had already learned their theorems from adolescence. The players arrived in the senior team fluent in the language of De la Fuente. The national team was just the last stage of a long development journey.Euro 2024 offers the first glimpse of this transformation. Spain abandoned the stereotype of sterile possession that had come to define the last years of the Xavi-Iniesta era (2008-2012). They add speed, verticality and athleticism.Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams provided width and acceleration, while Rodri and Pedri ensured control in midfield. The European title was the foundation of a larger project that reached its logical conclusion on Sunday.