Post by Aritra Nandy

Luis de la Fuente’s Tikitaka shutdown Eiffel Tower’s lights 🗼 🗼👉 When we play like a team, we’re unbeatable. – Luis de la Fuente 👏 A somber mood in Paris 🇫🇷🗼 Luis de la Fuente has created one of the strongest coach-player relationships in modern international football. His tactical clarity is exceptional, but what separates him even more is his man-management. Every member of the squad feels trusted, valued and empowered—and that belief translates directly onto the pitch. But suddenly why this man became so relevant 🤴 Why everyone is talking about him now … let’s dig 🪏 dive deep ❣️ Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente’s obsession with studying Marcelo Bielsa reminds me of Ekalavya’s devotion to his guru. Many coaches in world football regard Marcelo Bielsa as the ultimate tactical guru and draw inspiration from his methods. But what Luis de la Fuente did to absorb his master’s knowledge belongs more to the realm of epic legend than modern football. De la Fuente had been unemployed for 18 months, unable to secure a coaching job. You call that Unlucky ❓I prefer to call highly unlikely - the best was awaiting - So what he did next - He went to Athletic Bilbao’s famed Lezama academy. Was he allowed to meet ❓ Never ❌❌❌ During that period, Bielsa was conducting training sessions, he tried to enter and meet Bielsa but the club officials barred him and sent him away. But this didn’t stopped him, he used to travel every morning to watch Bielsa train at Athletic Bilbao’s Lezama facility. He silently used to come, climbed a tall tree next to the training ground and film the entire training session with a small camera. Luis de la Fuente filmed Bielsa’s sessions for five months, studying the footage afterward and absorbed his master’s knowledge to the core. He never argued with the club officials why would an unknown, unemployed coach be allowed access? He never took that personally when the club officials repeatedly turned him away, often quite humiliatingly. Those recordings became his classroom. He meticulously studied, analysed and absorbed every tactical detail of his mentor’s coaching philosophy. So when Mikel Oyarzabal calmly converted Spain’s early penalty today, television cameras caught De la Fuente taking something out of his pocket and looking at it. Perhaps it was a photograph of Bielsa—the guru who shaped him. Such is the depth of his admiration and devotion of a disciple. And why wouldn’t it be ❓ When the Spanish Football Federation announced his name as head coach after Spain’s poor showing at the Qatar World Cup, the entire Spanish media bulldoz the decision on social media and heavily criticized by the media, who dismissed him as an unknown. Since then, Spain’s results have improved steadily — Nations League, Euro success, and now a return to the World Cup final for the first time since 2010, achieved by beating rivals France. Spain’s low-profile, tactically disciplined system prevailed.