Post by STEPHEN SNYDER

Hours before the biggest match of his life, Spain's coach was asked if he prays for victory. His answer stopped me cold.   Luis de la Fuente told the room he prays every day — but never for results. He thanks God each morning for his health and the gift of life. He asks for the strength to keep fighting. And he refuses to ask for help defeating an opponent, because in his words, that wouldn't be fair.   Then he walked out and won a World Cup semifinal, 2-0.   The man has never hidden who he is. He has said plainly that he is a Catholic, that God gives him security and strength, that both his experience and his intelligence invite him to believe. He laughs off superstition — no lucky shirts, no rituals. Just a discipline of daily gratitude he's kept for decades, long before any trophy was on the line. He's even expressed surprise that strangers stop him in the street to thank him for saying so out loud.   In that same press conference, a reporter asked about his late parents and his brother Óscar. He got emotional, then said something remarkable: remembering them is not a reason for sadness — it's a source of joy.   I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. De la Fuente is Catholic. Different traditions — and I recognized every word. Because what he described isn't transactional faith, bargaining with heaven for outcomes. It's gratitude-first faith: thank God for what you have, ask for strength to do the work, and then go do the work yourself.   That's also, quietly, a leadership masterclass. A leader who prays for outcomes outsources responsibility. A leader who prays for strength accepts it. His team plays like it — after the match he credited four years of staying faithful to an idea.   Gratitude for the gift. Strength for the fight. Ownership of the result.   That's how I want to build. In faith, in family, in business.   Well coached, Coach. See you Sunday.   #Faith #Leadership #WorldCup2026 #Spain #LuisDeLaFuente #Gratitude #FaithAndWork