Luis de la Fuente has told Thomas Tuchel there is no racism in Spain after the England coach’s admission that he would remind his players of the anti-racism protocol prior to their meeting at the Metropolitano on Sunday night.
This will be the first time the countries play each other in Madrid since some of England’s black players were subjected to racist abuse in a match at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2004. And although England have returned to Spain three times without incident since then, twice in Seville and once in Alicante, Tuchel was asked on Friday about going back in the buildup to Sunday’s game. The England coach replied that England “will not expect anything [untoward]” but also said: “maybe we take our five minutes to inform the players about the protocol if there is a precedent [in Madrid].”
Asked to respond to those words, and whether Spain still had work to do combating racism after being fined for discriminatory chants about Muslims during a game against Egypt in Barcelona in March, the Spain coach asked for confirmation as to whom they had come from, then said: “I can say the opposite. Tell Thomas there is no racism. As clear as that. Exactly the same as in England. We’re not racists, none of us.”
Tuchel, speaking later on Saturday night, expressed his irritation with the media, accusing journalists of manufacturing a row. “I got asked ‘what will happen if and if and if’, and I said if it happens, we have a protocol in place. That’s it … I never talked about racism in Spain, I answered politely a question about what happens. You create a lot of confusion for absolutely nothing.”
De la Fuente also described Spain versus England as “one of the best games you can see anywhere in the world right now, maybe the best”, and admitted that his team needs to exercise more control than they had been able to do during their 3-2 win at Wembley in September.
Asked to explain how the Premier League could be the richest league in the world and English players command bigger transfer fees than Spaniards despite the national team not winning anything since 1966 while the selección have won two World Cups and three Euros in this century alone, he insisted that it is a mistake to mix price and value.
“There is a song about value and price and it is exactly that,” the Spain coach said. “Someone has to pay it and that’s very welcome but it doesn’t mean it is the real value. I am surprised often when you see the prices paid for our players compared to [the fees] paid in England. I think ‘they’re so cheap’. They [Spanish players] are the best in the world. You can buy a player for half the price of what you pay in England for someone. In that world, in that market, that’s what’s spent. But I’m clear on this: we must not confuse price and value.”
“Between the English model and the Spanish model, I would choose the Spanish model,” De la Fuente added. “It is recognisable and the players have the ability to express it. The English model has developed a lot and I think it is very good. But you have to have the players. We can’t play like them and they can’t play like us.”
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“One of the strengths England have is the ability to run into space. When the game is open, they have people who are comfortable with that space and playing that style. Last time against them we lacked control, were unable to have longer periods of possession and impose ourselves more on our opponents.
“In the last two tournaments, England have been third and finalists. I think they are a great team and they have great players. That shows you it is not easy to win. Maybe that should make us appreciate what we’re doing this century: it is marvellous and very difficult. England are always candidates to win everything [nowadays]. This is one of the best games you can see in the world.”
