Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has confirmed he will not deploy a man-marker on Lionel Messi in the World Cup final, even though his own past experience suggests it might be a risky strategy. Messi has scored eight goals and provided four assists in the tournament so far.
De la Fuente recalls first Messi encounter
Speaking ahead of Sunday's final in New Jersey, De la Fuente recounted the first time he faced Messi, 22 years ago, when the Argentine was a 16-year-old rising through Barcelona's ranks. At the time, De la Fuente was coaching Sevilla's under-19 team, and the two sides met in the Copa del Rey last 16 in May 2004 at the Miniestadi.
"I'm going to tell you something funny about Messi," De la Fuente said. "Look, I met Lionel Messi when I was coaching at Sevilla in division de honour [the national under-19 league] and we played a Copa del Rey game against Barcelona. We went to Barcelona. They had spoken very well about a boy called Messi. So, we put a man-marker on him. In the 70th minute it was 0-0. When they gave a yellow card to the player who was marking him, I took him off. And in 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals."
No repeat of man-marking tactic
Despite that experience, De la Fuente ruled out using a similar tactic on Sunday. "Does that mean we are going to man mark him? No. Does it mean we will pay close attention to him? Yes, but in exactly the same way that they are going to have to pay attention to our players," he said, laughing.
When asked if Lamine Yamal could be Spain's answer to Messi, De la Fuente responded: "Lamine has to be Lamine. Messi can never be repeated. He is an extraordinary talent and above all an example for young players in his attitude, his behaviour, the spectacular World Cup he is producing and the age at which he is producing it. It will be a great show between two super teams. It will be a game of talent, brilliance, great play."
De la Fuente defends Argentina's style
The Spain coach also pushed back against suggestions that Argentina might resort to "dark arts" or dirty tactics. "Please," he shot back. "I respect everyone's opinions but no, I do not [accept that portrayal]. I have extraordinary admiration for a team that is Copa América [2021], World Cup, Copa América [2024] and Finalissima champions. No one has done that in history. And they are coached by a friend of mine [Lionel Scaloni]. Admiration, admiration, admiration. We will all use our footballing weapons."
De la Fuente: Final not 'all or nothing'
De la Fuente dismissed the notion that the final was a do-or-die affair. "What is important is to be in the position to win it," he said. "Let's enjoy it, play our way, value this. If you said we could play a World Cup final every year and lose, I would sign up for that."
He admitted his only fear was the logistical challenge of flying by helicopter from New Jersey to Manhattan for pre-match events, and back again. He also expressed displeasure with a chaotic Fifa event, which an irritated Scaloni described as "surreal". During the event, De la Fuente struggled to speak over the audience shouting for Messi, who was also on stage.
"Since I was little, I was taught to be respectful of everyone; we should learn this lesson," De la Fuente told the crowd.
