Spain’s head coach Luis de la Fuente has announced that his team will not employ a man-marking strategy against Lionel Messi in the upcoming World Cup final. This decision comes despite Messi’s impressive record of eight goals and four assists in the tournament, which might suggest such an approach could be beneficial.
As the anticipation builds for Sunday’s final in New Jersey, De la Fuente recounted his first encounter with Messi, dating back 22 years. At that time, Messi was a 16-year-old prodigy at Barcelona, while De la Fuente served as the youth-team coach at Sevilla. The two teams faced each other in the Copa del Rey’s last 16 at the Miniestadi in May 2004.
“I’m going to tell you something funny about Messi,” De la Fuente recalled. “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.”
Despite this memory, De la Fuente confirmed that his strategy will not involve man-marking Messi. “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 stated.
When asked if Lamine Yamal could be seen as Spain’s equivalent to Messi, De la Fuente emphasized the uniqueness of the Argentine star. “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.” he remarked.
De la Fuente also countered notions that Argentina might resort to unsportsmanlike tactics, defending the team’s reputation. “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.” he responded. “What is important is to be in the position to win it,”
Addressing whether this final represented an “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.” scenario, De la Fuente dismissed the idea. “Since I was little, I was taught to be respectful of everyone; we should learn this lesson,” 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 expressed concerns about one aspect of the tournament logistics, specifically regarding a helicopter ride arranged by FIFA from New Jersey to pre-match events in Manhattan, admitting he was not particularly fond of the chaotic event. During that occasion, De la Fuente struggled to be heard over the crowd’s cheers for Messi, who was also present on stage.
“Since I was little, I was taught to be respectful of everyone; we should learn this lesson,” he told the audience.
