Luis de la Fuente – La Roja’s old hand, tweaking tiki-taka to Spain’s success in Euro 2024

In 17 months, La Roja have won their maiden UEFA Nations League title, topped their Euro qualification group and won all their Euro 2024 group-stage games, presenting themselves as potential challengers for the title.

At the Euro 2024, some of Spain’s most important players were coached by De La Fuente in the youth sides, including midfielder Pedri. | Photo Credit: AP

Spain, in the last two decades, has been known for its philosophy of tiki-taka: take the ball, pass the ball.

Though it won three trophies in four years sticking to it (Euro 2008 and 2012, FIFA World Cup 2010), silverware remained elusive for La Roja since, until 2022, despite racking up record passing numbers in major tournaments.

But under head coach Luis de La Fuente, who took charge in December 2022, Spain is undergoing winds of change.

In 17 months, La Roja has won its maiden UEFA Nations League title, topped its Euro qualification group and stormed into the round of 16 with wins its all three games – the first time it did so since winning the tournament in 2008.

Style of play while attacking

Though De La Fuente has stuck to the core principles of tiki-taka, he has preferred direct attacks over possession.

Against Croatia, Spain had less possession than its opponent for the first time in 16 years, the last match being the Euro 2008 final where it had 46 per cent possession.

But the score at full-time reflected a resounding 3-0 victory for De La Fuente’s side. And the major reason for it was its no-nonsense attack, with wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.

Yamal, the youngest player to ever play in Euros, has clocked a top speed of over 30kmph while Williams is one of the fastest players in the world, with a speed of over 35kmph.

When Italian dailies referred to them as two Ferraris against Italy, they were not kidding!

Spain’s possession overall has also undergone a major dip, from 75.8 per cent at the FIFA World Cup 2022 to 53.7 per cent at Euro 2024.

In the FIFA World Cup 2022, Spain had 23 build-ups (creating chances with passes to eventually carry the ball into the final third) – the highest among all teams – and just two direct attacks – third from bottom – while in the 2024 European Championship, it had six fast break shots (sudden transitions, counter attacks), the highest among all teams so far in this edition.

Starting from the back, Spain – unlike its previous philosophy of passing in triangles till the ball reached the final third – has looked to get a through ball or long ball into the final third, to use the pace of Yamal and Williams.

Spain’s crosses into the penalty box, per 90 minutes, have increased significantly, from 1.86 to 4. | Photo Credit: SonyLIV screengrab

Its crosses into the penalty box, per 90 minutes, have increased significantly, from 1.86 to 4 – a 115 per cent increase.

In Spain’s first goal against Croatia, Fabian’s through ball found Morata, with Yamal and Williams stretching the opposition with runs along the flanks.

And the team has stuck to the system irrespective of who plays and in what formation they play. For example, Spain made 10 changes to its starting XI and played in a 4-2-3-1 formation instead of a 4-3-3 which it employed in its previous two games.

But the lone goal of the match came from a line-breaking long ball from Aymeric Laporte to Dani Olmo. The whole build-up, including the goal, had two passes: Laporte to Olmo and Olmo to Ferran Torres.

The whole build-up, including the goal, had two passes: Laporte to Olmo and Olmo to Ferran Torres. | Photo Credit: SonyLIV screengrab

Defending when out of possession

Spain’s 4-3-3 formation at the FIFA World Cup 2022 changed to a 4-2-3-1 shape formation while defending, looking to stave off the opponent in the midfield with an overloaded midblock.

At Euro 2024, Spain has gone with a consistent 4-4-2 formation with equal importance on both lines of defence. | Photo Credit: JioCinema screengrab

At the 2024 European Championship, Spain has gone with a consistent 4-4-2 formation with equal importance on both lines of defence.

As a result, the shape has been more balanced than the previous strategy under Luis Enrique, which had five players in the midfield and four at the back while out of possession

At the Euros in Germany, it has had a collective average of 25 take-ons per 90 minutes – its best at a major international tournament since Euro 1996 (31 per 90).

Yamal and Williams’ pace have come in handy too, who have retracted to a defensive shape as quickly as darting forward along the wings, stretching the opponent.

Moreover, the pivot of the mid-block has prevented the opponent’s midfielders from running into the final third, while the lower block has marked the striker(s).

One of the most important players has been Rodri. | Photo Credit: SonyLIV screengrab

One of the most important players here has been Rodri, who has become the perfect successor to Sergio Busquets, honing his talents at Manchester City.

Having started as a centre-back at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, he has aced the defensive midfield position at the Premier League side, winning the treble in the 2022-23 season and a four-peat of league titles with Pep Guardiola’s side.

Under De La Fuente, Spain’s accuracy in tackles has also improved.

At the World Cup in Qatar, Spain finished fourth from bottom (7.44) in successful tackles and bottom for interceptions made and the number of players tackled (16.7) per 90 minutes.

At the Euros, the former stat has risen up to 10 while the latter to 21.7.

One of the biggest factors in De La Fuente’s success has been his working with youth teams for 11 years before taking up the senior team’s job.

He groomed the under-19 side from 2013 to 2018, then the under-21 and finally, led the under-23 side to the Olympics silver medal in Tokyo, three years ago.

Half of Spain’s Euro 2024 squad comprises players who have been either coached by De La Fuente in the youth sides or have been part of his Tokyo 2020 contingent, where Spain won the silver medal.

The bigger picture

De La Fuente has managed just 18 matches as the senior team’s head coach, and his win percentage, among managers with at least that many games in charge, is the highest.

Highest win percentage of Spanish managers:

• Luis De La Fuente – 86.1% (18 matches)
• Julien Lopetegui – 85% (20 matches)
• Luis Aragonés – 81.48% (54 matches)
• Vicente del Bosque – 80.7% (114 matches)
• Iñaki Sáez – 78.26% (23 matches)

The only manager who comes close to him is Lopetegui, who managed 20 games, and, after 18 matches, had a better goal scoring and a fewer goals conceded ratio than De La Fuente (59:12 to 55:16).

However, what sets De La Fuente apart from Lopetegui is his performance in delivering silverware, which has eluded Spain for a decade.

At the UEFA Nations League final, Spain beat Croatia on penalties as he became only the fourth coach to help La Roja win a major international trophy.

And with football acumen, along with a group of players he helped shape up for the senior team, De La Fuente is looking at another – the European Championship – in Germany.

“I think we’re the best in the world in terms of interpreting various match situations,” he said after beating defending champion Italy.

“Of course, that is really reinforced and strengthened when you win silverware. But I think it’s important to really underline the quality of this generation of players, the players that have broken into this squad. I think the Spanish players are the best in the world,” he added.

But De La Fuente, refuting comparisons to the 2008-winning team, has insisted that the side will need to keep its feet on the ground.

“We have a long way to go to catch up with that national team that you mentioned because they won the Euros,” he told reporters.

“We need to improve in every area. That may seem negative but we have to keep improving. That’s our goal from day to day. The good news is there’s huge room for improvement, possibly infinite or maybe there’s a limit.”

For Spain, the competition only gets tougher from here, with the round of 16 fixture in Cologne on Sunday.

But for now, with three clean sheets in the group stages for the first time, De La Fuente’s men can stall their march to Berlin and enjoy the progress, one stage at a time.