From De la Fuente: Morata’s Missed Penalty and the Management of Success

When Spain returned to the hotel where they spent the night in Munich, the day quickly dimmed. The celebration planned for the champions faded into small clusters of conversation until everyone retreated to their rooms. “You can’t always win,” warned an official from the Royal Spanish Football Federation. A sentiment similar to what Luis de la Fuente had already expressed in the press room at the Allianz Arena: “Success is being in a position to win, and this team will always be there…” emphasized the coach. He is not mistaken: at least the results support this. Champion of the Nations League 2023, champion of the Euro 2024, and runner-up in the Nations League 2025. Their record stands at 31 matches with only two losses.

“The Portuguese told me that this has been the best team they have faced,” disclosed De la Fuente referring to his conversation with Roberto Martínez, coach of Portugal. A similar notion was exchanged with Didier Deschamps after the semifinal against France. The French coach, in any case, did not want to fall behind in acknowledging Spain’s success: “It’s impossible to watch a match with so many stars.” Portugal snatched the triple European dream from Spain. A bittersweet defeat, if you will, that leaves clear warnings for De la Fuente and lessons for some of his players, especially Lamine Yamal.

Learning to lose. While some members of Barcelona’s sports area believe that Yamal needed “some tough love” to deepen his growth, Joan Laporta had other plans in mind. “He has to win to secure the Ballon d’Or,” said the Barcelona president to the Spanish team ahead of the final. The Federation had invited club presidents to Germany, and Laporta was the only one who, with players from his team called up by Spain, traveled to Munich. Real Madrid, on the other hand, sent Emilio Butragueño. “He made us all happy and was the soul of the party,” sources from the RFEF confessed.

Lamine, for his part, found no answers to break through Portugal. He was silenced on his flank by Nuno Mendes, replaced when he neglected defensive duties. “To those who say I’m getting cocky, I tell them that as long as I win, they can’t say anything to me,” he had stated before the Champions League match against Inter. According to Barcelona sources, he did not manage that defeat against the Italian team well, and this Sunday he was the first player from Spain to leave the field. “He’s tired. In a competition like this, from Thursday to today, there has been little rest. He has had a very tough year. He’s 17 years old, and he needs to be managed wisely,” justified De la Fuente.

Tied to the idea. The coach prides himself on having given the team different nuances; the lack of alternatives was precisely the criticism aimed at his predecessor Luis Enrique, who did not offer a plan B in the harsh defeat against Morocco in the Qatar World Cup. “We are a team with different styles. We can run a lot, regroup quickly, and we know how to defend in a low block as we did against the Netherlands in the Nations League quarter-finals,” he explained last week in an interview with this newspaper.

But despite seeking flexibility in tactical solutions, there are ideas that De la Fuente struggles to let go of. “All coaches are the same,” they justify from Las Rozas. Dani Olmo does not think the same. Compatible near Pedri at Barcelona, the number 10 of the Spanish team did not play a single minute in the final, just like Fermín López, two key players in Hansi Flick’s team, which won the league, cup, and supercup. Merino, on the other hand, used as a forward at Arsenal, regained his spot as a midfielder in Spain.

Morata and the management of success. Coaches committed to their players, those who are labeled as managers, tend to be loyal to the footballers with whom they achieved success. This happened to Del Bosque with Spain and to Ancelotti, for example, at Madrid. De la Fuente, for his part, cannot let go of his captain Morata, who is now playing in the Turkish league, with hardly any presence in the Nations League finals after missing a penalty against Portugal.

“If Morata missed, it’s because he dared. Morata is a champion and a reference for us. I regret that it was him who missed, but I am responsible because I asked him to do it,” defended the Spanish coach once again. Morata, usually introspective, envisions his end with Spain: “It’s a possibility that I won’t be there in September,” he reflected on the games against Bulgaria and Turkey related to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. “I continue to count on everyone, those who are here and those who couldn’t come, like Carvajal, Rodri, or Ferran. There is always room for improvement, but talking about a change of cycle… please. There are players who are not even 25 years old. We need to continue with the idea we have been developing. I told the players that I am proud to have them. Now we must think about the World Cup,” concluded De la Fuente.