EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s 65-year-old professorial soccer coach with a shaved head, graying beard and rounded spectacles, is a history aficionado with a specific interest in the Roman Empire.
He’s currently reading “Meditations,” the personal notes of Emperor Marcus Aurelius from 161 to 180 AD. He’s fond of one quote in particular:
What brings no benefit to the hive, brings none to the bee.
His players with a combined transfer valuation of $1.4 billion can recite it in their sleep, they’ve heard it so much.
“Players should have that mindset, where you need to work for the collective good,” de la Fuente says. “That makes us stronger. That is a teaching we shouldn’t forget, ever. It’s something we always have in our mind.
“We’ve done well so far, and the football reflects that.”
Spain is in the World Cup final against Argentina on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium because it has a roster worth a combined $1.4 billion. But it’s how those players were developed and how they’re deployed that defines La Roja.
Hint: Maybe U.S. Soccer, in its eternal quest to become relevant in the men’s World Cup, should be taking notes.
“They have an identity, a philosophy; they all play the same way at every level,” French legend Thierry Henry gushed on the Fox telecast after Spain dismantled Les Bleus 2-0 in the semifinals Tuesday. “The coach knows exactly how the system is, all the players know how the system is. You can see it. This is a team with stars in it, but first and foremost is a team.
“Spain, congratulations. You deserve to go to the final. You are (the) European champion. But I also want to give credit to the whole system and what they put in place, because Spain didn’t used to win like that. Now they win at every level.”
Henry wasn’t finished.
“What I’m trying to say to you is it doesn’t matter if (left wing Alex) Baena plays, if it’s Nico Williams, whoever it is,” he continued. “They know what they need to do since … they … are … 9 … years … old. It doesn’t matter who comes or doesn’t come in. They know.
“That’s why I’m talking about who are you, what’s your philosophy, what’s your identity? A guy comes in, even if it’s his first cap, second cap or third cap, he knows the system because they play the same system. It’s pretty simple. You have to think about that.”
U.S. Soccer got a couple of hedge-fund billionaires to bankroll the $6 million annual salary to hire Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, who had coached at some of the biggest clubs in Europe — Chelsea, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain.
Spain? It hired de la Fuente, who coached exactly 11 games at the first-division professional level and studies the Roman Empire.
But he’s been with the federation since 2013, first as the under-19 national coach, then the U21s, then the U23 Olympic team. He won U19 and U21 European titles and finished second at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. With the senior team filled with his former youth players, he is the reigning European champion, riding a 37-match unbeaten streak and the favorite Sunday to win his nation’s second World Cup title.
“The Spanish footballer is the best footballer in the world because of his understanding of the game,” de la Fuente said. “Spanish players know how to behave in attack, in defense, and in every phase in between. That’s a great achievement of Spanish football — of Spanish coaches, Spanish clubs and Spanish development systems.
“We should appreciate what we have in Spain.”
There are 99 French-born players in this World Cup, and Les Blues were considered the pre-tournament favorites after reaching the last two finals. But the secret to much of that success is marrying a strong youth development system with an influx of African immigrants, first with athletic players born outside the country and then the sons of those born in France.
The Netherlands and Belgium both instituted centralized developmental systems that spawned golden generations of talent, but they have the advantage of being small countries easily traversed by car or train.
Spain is a different proposition, a large land mass with imposing mountain ranges dividing the country into distinct geographical and politically acrimonious regions with unique cultures and, yes, even languages.
Yet soccer is the one thing that unites them, a singular system and style and spirit.
There is a pay-to-play element, but it’s subsidized and reasonably affordable, not the $10,000 (or more) that some U.S. families spend on travel teams and private lessons. And once you reach a pro club’s youth academy, it’s free.
Spanish kids start young — often by age 5 or 6 — and focus on technical skills and relatively advanced tactical concepts over the physical attributes U.S. coaches covet in the obsession with winning and winning now. Ball control, dribbling, passing, playing in tight spaces, spatial awareness.
The leagues have promotion and relegation, and there’s a clear pathway from grassroots to city to regional to pro clubs — all of it under the umbrella of the national federation.
The result is soccer players, not athletes who play soccer. And there’s a difference.
Spain ranks 31st of the 48 teams at this World Cup in average height at 5-foot-11½ and second-to-last among Europe’s 16 entrants.
But 25 members of the 26-man roster were born in Spain and learned how to play the Spanish way. Defender Aymeric Laporte was born just across the border in France to parents of Basque ancestry, but he moved to Basque club Athletic Bilbao’s youth academy as a teenager.
They know what they need to do since … they … are … 9 … years … old.
Argentina’s best player is Lionel Messi, who, by the way, was developed in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy starting at 13. His teammates worship him, sing songs about him, regularly hoist him on their shoulders and parade him around the field after big victories.
Spain is carried by Rodri, a central midfielder who has no goals and no assists but has completed 100 more passes than anyone else in the tournament and ranks first in FIFA’s defensive power ratings. He doesn’t have tattoos or social media. You don’t see him in beer commercials. He drove a second-hand Opel Corsa even after signing big-money contracts. At 30, he’s still dating his college sweetheart.
Spain doesn’t overwhelm you with 7-0 wins. Rather, it suffocates you with the collective, with the beehive, with possession and movement and defense, able to counter-press high up the field or deploy a low block with equal proficiency, allowing just one goal in 630 minutes of World Cup soccer. La Roja ranks first, FIFA’s Technical Study Group noted, in advanced analytics like inside line-breaking passes (388) and offers to receive passes between lines (1,280) and high turnovers (11 per 30 minutes of possession).
Their second goal against France was a work of art, starting when left back Marc Cucurella won the ball on the left side in their own half. The ball pinged from left to center to left to center before being switched to the right, then back to the center, then up the field through defensive lines, then wide left, then back to the center, then to the right, where right back Pedro Porro passed to attacking midfielder Dani Olmo, who flicked it back to him in the penalty box for an easy goal.
Twenty passes. Fifty-nine seconds.
“You just passed the ball around France,” Henry marveled, “like they were not there.”
It’s not just their men.
Their women, long ignored by a chauvinist Latin culture, had never qualified for a World Cup before 2015. Then attitudes toward women’s sports changed, along with federation resources, and they adopted the same youth development structure as the men.
They were eliminated in the round of 16 in the 2019 Women’s Cup.
They won the 2023 title, are No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings and have lost only once in their last 21 matches.
Win Sunday, and Spain becomes the first nation to hold both men’s and women’s World Cup crowns at the same time.
That’s some sweet honey.