Luis de la Fuente: “We Have a Wonderful Group of Players”

So much talent for so few places:

“I’ll have to make that decision when the time comes. Fortunately, we have an exceptional youth system producing top-level players and a very bright future. It’s a source of pride, not concern. It’s something to be happy about.”

Finishing in front of goal:

“That’s football. Winning six-nil can sometimes be misleading — it’s not easy at all. This brings us back to the reality of what we’ve achieved and what still lies ahead. We could have ended with an even greater margin, but we faced a team with courage and a brilliant goalkeeper. You need to do things very well to convert the chances you create, and to make results like that possible.”

Injury concerns:

“Whenever there are no injuries, I feel relieved. It’s easy to talk about this today, but it’s worth remembering that football is a contact sport — injuries are always a risk. It’s impossible to think you’ll never face physical setbacks. We must accept them as part of the game. I pray that no one gets injured, but unfortunately, they do happen.”

Different types of wingers:

“Each player has unique qualities, and that variety allows us to play in a recognisable style while letting each of them add their personal touch. I’m not worried about fielding different profiles of players — the team’s essence remains the same. We like to have possession, but always with a clear sense of attacking purpose.”

Praise from Sagnol:

“The personal side of football is very important. Compliments should be received naturally as a form of professional recognition, but nothing more. The next challenge will be even harder — not because of the opponent, but because of our own expectations. We’ll take the positive from those words, but without thinking the job is done. This group of players is wonderful — they’re excellent footballers, in my opinion the best, and also great people.”

Set-piece situations:

“We pay attention to every aspect of the game we can work on, and to every possible scenario. We try to take care of all the small details, even with limited preparation time. We have professionals who analyse matches, specialists in set plays and restarts — each of us focuses on our own area to ensure that every piece of information we give the players helps them perform a little bit better and get the most out of their abilities.”

Pedri:

“Pedri had a very complete and mature performance. Seeing Pedri make a mistake would actually be news — he almost always does everything right. He brings calm, control, and helps his teammates reach their best version. Of course, that’s also thanks to being surrounded by great teammates.”

Georgia:

“They have fantastic transitions. We already suffered against them before, and we knew how dangerous their counter-attacks could be. We expected to have the initiative, so we paid special attention to our defensive balance. The players showed great concentration, which allowed us to attack more effectively. Georgia are a very good side — it’s not that they played poorly, it’s that our defenders were outstanding.”

Oyarzabal:

“Mikel is a very complete player. Whether he plays as a striker or further forward, he does everything well. He makes great runs, finds spaces between the lines, arrives well from deep, and reads every situation perfectly. I think he’s underrated, just like some of our other players. Merino doesn’t need to score three goals for people to appreciate his quality. Zubimendi, Le Normand, Cucurella… they’re all exceptional footballers, but sometimes the media attention given to others overshadows players like them.”

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