Rioja wines are distinguished by their balance and elegance, not without the freshness provided by the acidity of the Tempranillo grape, in addition to good resistance to the passage of time. To produce them, technical knowledge is not solely necessary; an academic enologist is not enough. Knowledge of the land, the environment in which it is produced, and respect for tradition are important, but also audacity for innovation, for risk. A football team is not a wine, but in its good aging, one must act like a winemaker.
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Luis de la Fuente knows about wines. He is from Haro, the capital of Rioja, surrounded by vineyards and home to some of the main wineries of the designation of origin. A place where wine tastes of the land, especially in the triangle formed by Haro, Briones, and Laguardia, a land with which the national coach feels deeply identified, despite leaving his hometown young to play for Athletic, a club with numerous followers there. His mother, known as Berti, ran Mercería Sol for years, which her sister Ana transformed into Modas Sol.
De la Fuente has acted like a winemaker from his land not only with this national team but in the upbringing of an entire generation whom he has coached in lower categories and whom he has brought to uncorking at the moment of plenitude. Like a round, balanced wine, of an intense red, in which the wood of Rodri and the fruit of Ferran Torres can be appreciated at the same time. He has done it with the touch of those in his town who bought dozens and dozens of eggs so that the whites would clean the impurities of the broth in the barrels.
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Only from this deep knowledge of what he had in his hands can some decisions that many of us considered risky, and we wrote about them as such, be understood today, such as calling up footballers who were returning after long periods of inactivity due to injuries. This was the case for Rodri himself, Mikel Merino, or Nico Williams. Like a good winemaker, his knowledge of the matter and intuition told him that the wine would reach its ideal point at the necessary moment. He was right.
De la Fuente often repeats the word “family” to talk about his relationship with his players. Good wines are often a matter of large families, but decision-making cannot be enslaved by emotional ties. De la Fuente has not been, as evidenced by Pedri‘s substitution in key matches, a decision made from a sense of justice. Let us not dwell, then, on the moralistic narrative of the character, but on his role as a coach, because this world title, like a good Rioja, tastes of its land.