Luis de la Fuente: โYou can show humanity โ thatโs not a weaknessโ
The Spain manager on winning Euro 2024, the psychology of modern coaching and the genius of Lamine Yamal Luis de la Fuente is sitting in a small, unremarkable white office on the second floor of a quiet corner of the Spanish Football Federationโs Las Rozas HQ, running through the qualities sought in superstar managers these days. โObnoxious, rude, disrespectful, arrogant โฆ it seems like the only way they take you into consideration is this thing they call โcharismaโ,โ he says. โI donโt know what that is but if youโre those things they say: โHeโs got charisma!โ Well, then, I donโt want charisma. Weโve shown that being normal can work, too. You donโt have to be winding people up all day.โ His story is a little different, the tale of a man who was 61 when he took over the Spain team, not so much low profile as almost no profile. A former full-back at Athletic Club and Sevilla, described as quiet, discreet, unknown, initially he was a little awkward in public โ in conversation, by contrast, he is warm, enthusiastic, enjoyable company, charismatic in fact โ and he didnโt have elite experience. His only senior coaching job had been 11 third-tier games a decade earlier. Turns out, it was better that way, Spainโs way. Continue reading...
