Spain football coach De la Fuente: Nobody is better than Spain

TOKYO, July 19– The coach of the Spanish football team for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Luis de la Fuente, says he is under “no pressure” ahead of his side’s first game against Egypt on Thursday. Spain goes into the Games as clear favorite for a medal with players such as Unai Simon, Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino, Pau Torres, and Eric Garcia in a squad with plenty of experience.

TOKYO, July 19 (Xinhua) — The coach of the Spanish football team for the Tokyo Olympic Games, Luis de la Fuente, says he is under “no pressure” ahead of his side’s first game against Egypt on Thursday.

Spain goes into the Games as clear favorite for a medal with players such as Unai Simon, Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino, Pau Torres, and Eric Garcia in a squad with plenty of experience.

“It’s a dream come true,” said De la Fuente, who usually coaches the Spain Under-21 side.

“I am not avoiding thinking we can compete against everyone, and I want the players to think they can battle for the top prize.”

“Looking at it objectively, such as the capacity that this team has and with what they have done in other competitions, we have what we need. There could be teams as good as us, but nobody is better than Spain,” he insisted.

“We want to live the dream, we want to live it together, and we want to achieve something that will allow us to go down in history,” added De la Fuente, who believes that the full side reaching the semifinals of the recent European Championships had been a help.

“It strengthened the feeling that the fans had towards the team and helped us to recover that sentiment. Everything that has happened over the past few weeks and months has raised expectations of what this team can do in the Olympics. This is a good moment for Spanish football and for the supporters,” explained the coach.

De la Fuente said he was “very proud and incredibly happy” to be able to coach Spain.

“I am enjoying it, and I am very privileged: how am I going to feel under pressure if I am doing something that I enjoy doing? I am enjoying preparing for the Olympic Games with some fantastic players and with excellent companions in my job… How am I going to feel pressure?”

“I am going to do what I enjoy doing, and whatever happens will happen,” he concluded. Enditem