Spain manager huges bullfighting fan but has plenty in common with Southgate

LUIS DE LA FUENTE and Gareth Southgate would find plenty in common should they chat in Berlin — but you will never see the England boss at the bullring.

Both had brief and unhappy stints in club football as coaches, followed by a move into the youth ranks at international level before being surprisingly thrust into the top job.

They have faced criticism during their time — but guided their teams to the final on Europe’s biggest stage.

One area where there will certainly not be any common ground is their hobbies.

Spain manager De la Fuente is a proud taurino — a bullfighting fan — having declared his love for the Spanish bloodsport.

In an interview with AS last year, he said: “Super proud to be Spanish, Catholic and a bullfighting fan.

“I am more than proud, very proud to be everything they say. And since I am free, I choose what I like, with all due respect for others.”

De la Fuente is also, despite being 63, a devoted fitness fanatic, spending plenty of time in the gym to keep his imposing figure in shape.

The former Athletic Bilbao left-back has been cycling between their team hotel at the Der Oschberghof golf resort and the training ground in the hills outside the small town of Donaueschingen in southern Germany.

Preparation for the biggest game of his career against England in the German capital on Sunday has not stopped him from meeting fans for a chat as he crosses the road between the pitches of local club SV Aasen and the secluded hotel.

The Basque-born coach is a popular figure with the  group of supporters who have been trying to sneak a peak over the fences into the training ground.

But that was not always the case. Just like his Three Lions counterpart, De la Fuente was thrust into the senior job from his country’s Under-21s, appointed following the Qatar World Cup as Luis Enrique’s successor.

If Southgate was a surprise in England, this appointment seemed to come from nowhere.

Antonio Muelas, the lead commentator for Radio Nacional de Espana, who is close with the coach, told SunSport: “He was basically unknown, he hadn’t coached a top-level club and had been with the academy teams.

“People really didn’t know him at all, he wasn’t a known figure. He has won a lot of short tournaments.  When he started and people were not convinced, you had to point out that he is really good at this.”

Having had a good career as a no- nonsense full-back not afraid of a rough challenge, winning LaLiga twice as well as a Copa del Rey with Bilbao, his success hardly translated to coaching early on.

De la Fuente started out in the regional Basque leagues, before working in the academies of two of his former clubs Sevilla and Bilbao.

His first real shot at management came with Alaves in Spain’s second division — though that lasted just three months before he was sacked after just 11 games, despite winning four of them.

Southgate could empathise, even though he got longer at Middlesbrough from 2006 to 2009.

Alaves was De la Fuente’s last job in club football, just as Boro was Southgate’s.

From there, things turned a corner after De la Fuente — never capped at senior level by Spain as a player but was in their Olympic team — moved into the national set-up two years after leaving Alaves.

De la Fuente’s greatest strength is tournament football, excelling at creating an environment for players to thrive in over a short period of time.

He has won two European Championship titles at youth level with the Under-19s in 2015 and Under-21s in 2019.

Five of the squad from five years ago are in Germany and three of them — Unai Simon, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo — are likely to start against England.

The focus on making every individual comfortable in the camp, and with the media, is not far from Southgate’s approach and has not gone unnoticed by the squad.

Bilbao defender Dani Vivian, 25, said: “What I see within the coaching staff is the respect they have for each other and the respect for each one of us, trying to get the best out of each one. The coach has an exceptional relationship with each one of us, close, motivating.

“I don’t feel like I have something  special. We all have tremendous esteem for each other now and we feel very grateful to have him.”

That environment has helped Spain thrive in Germany, with players from whizkid Lamine Yamal, 17 tomorrow, to 38-year-old Jesus Navas all involved. But it had not been plain sailing before this tournament.

Defeat to Scotland in only his second game cast doubt over the appointment and whether he could be gone in a flash.

Appointed by Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the boss faced calls to step down after applauding a speech in which the official repeatedly refused to resign following his unwanted kiss on Jenni Hermoso at the Women’s World Cup final last year.

De la Fuente did not stand aside but admitted: “I believe that criticism was deserved, I understand it and I apologise.”

He weathered those storms, with Scotland the only loss in Spain’s 21 games under his management.

Still, La Roja arrived in Germany with doubts over just how good this young group could be.

But they have lit up the competition this summer while other big beasts have struggled.

They have beaten Croatia, Italy, Germany and France on their way to the final, and their manager is relishing a shot at England, having watched their win over the Netherlands over dinner at the hotel.

One more win and De la Fuente’s men could spark a new era of Spanish dominance.