The architect of Spain who loves bullfighting
Everything is akin to a bullfight to Spain’s manager Luis de la Fuente. He calls himself a taurino — a bullfighting tragic. Every year, he makes it to the annual bullfighting fare in Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, the deathly sport’s cathedral. When he was appointed as La Roja’s manager three years ago, he thought, “well, this is a big bull.” Four years later, a European Championship, and an entry to the World Cup semifinal, Spain’s first since its triumph in 2010, he has been akin to a seasoned matador that grabbed every bull by its horn. Every victory of Spain in the knockout has been like a bullfight without bloodshed. Like the men in spangly suits move, Spain’s men take their combatants around the ring, weaving and spinning away from their rage, tiring them out, weakening them with their aggressive pressing and mixing up of passes, before pinning them to submission. If the 2010 winners were the manifestation of a profound but unsustainable philosophy, de la Fuente’s group is a triumph of tactical …
