Luis de la Fuente spoke to the media ahead of the match between the national team and Serbia inside Nuevo Arcángel Stadium of Cordoba. The Spanish team will be classified for the quarter-finals of the League of Nations whether to beat the Serbian team. The Spanish coach will not be able to count on Lamine Yamal.
The coach started by talking about Lamine Yamal: “He had a problem. “I asked him, he told me he might have doubts and I decided to let him rest.” “It’s football. He was feeling unwell and his message was that he was not in the best shape. There are no more,” he added.
“What bothers me the most is that there are people who play the game of these comments. I said that national team matches meant one match per month for the player. Last year we played 17 international matches because we were lucky enough to reach the Euro final. But this year, we are going to play ten. In two years, there are 27 matches. Between 24 months, one game per month. Let’s stop thinking about it, they play on average one match per month with the national team. Let’s stop confusing ourselves and that’s it, the problem will surely be something else,” said the coach.
“Zero pressure, because I haven’t spoken to anyone from Barcelona. There is no lack of commitment and there is a lack of honesty from a player who does not feel fit for a very important match like this to tell me that he does not not feeling well. I have no doubts and I have confidence in him,” he commented.
He also spoke about his words about Lamine after the meeting: “If there are angry people, then it will be like that, but I didn’t feel it. I limit myself to explaining what football is. Always defend him, but the ones who have to do it are the referees. Rivals will use all weapons to stop such a good player. Are you also going to hold me responsible for Lamine’s kick? “There would still be more to do.”
“The best must play. This is what will be asked. If it doesn’t work, you’ll give birth to me. The problem is that their coaches didn’t always put Maradona, Messi or Cristiano. Of course we take care of the players. “We are not suicide bombers,” concluded the coach about Lamine.
On the other hand, he speaks of the right side: “We are not closing the door to anyone. We are lucky to have Pedro and Óscar. We know ourselves and we have confidence and security in the performance they will give us. I am very calm, they are very good. Unfortunately, it’s these injuries (Carvajal’s) that open doors for you. “We are very calm.”
The coach explained how the system is evolving without Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal: “We have a very clear idea and we are still trying to deploy it, but it is true that this change of variants gives other records. If you don’t have a footballer as fast as Nico or Lamine but you have other players with other characteristics, you have another evolution. Neither better nor worse, different. We still have a lot of records and we want to be strong there. We are very calm, we have footballers who can do fantastic things. Tomorrow is a very important and very difficult match, we can conclude a ranking which could give us a lot of joy. Let’s focus on this situation.
De la Fuente also spoke about the number of matches Lamine has played since he turned professional: “With us he played 17 matches to reach the European Cup final. To have a more accurate statistic, in two years he would play 26. One match per month with the national team. I don’t know who will play for their club. As we will have understood, we have very important matches. We have one match per month and the best must play. It’s just that it now seems that if Lamine was missing, it would be understood. And you are the first to give birth to me again, and that’s okay. We take care of footballers. The downside is that all coaches want those who are very good to play. “We don’t discover anything.”
On the other hand, he spoke about the possibility of granting breaks in the next call if they obtain the classification: “We don’t know, we will qualify and then we will say it. But we want to be the first We continue to demand, we all want to win and we all have the right to have the appropriate tools to win. This is what they pay us for. In every scenario, we are still in control of many situations, but we do not. We’re not suicide bombers and we don’t want to put anyone in danger. I hope we win tomorrow.”
He also commented on whether he feels national teams are looked down upon: “No. All footballers want to join the national team. And 100% of Spanish football fans want the national team to win with the best players. I’m calm, I do what I have to do. That Spain is a country of clubs? Yes, but what we saw the other day in Murcia and what we are going to see tomorrow… we are making people identify more with the Spanish national team. “We’ll get there.”
Regarding the presentation of honors to Zubimendi, he explained this: “We will try to find everyone’s moment, but you know that, for me, Martín is the second best player in the world. We are very lucky and, in addition, other fantastic players like Aleix, Pepelu… We are going to give continuity to the team, because it needs it. An idea is consolidated in the repetition of stimuli and this is what we want to continue to provoke. “It’s a luxury to have these players, they are very good.”
He also spoke about the versatility of Álex Baena: “Álex has exceptional conditions. He has matured a lot. I see him in any midfield position, I like him more inside, but he does very well on the wings and we use that versatility. It’s a safe bet, it always performs well. “The step forward he has taken is exceptional.”
