Messi Forces De La Fuente to Change Tactical Beliefs Ahead of World Cup Final

Luis de la Fuente, the head coach of the Spanish national team, revealed details of a historic encounter he had with Argentine star Lionel Messi nearly 22 years ago, emphasizing that this experience shaped his current tactical beliefs on how to handle the threat posed by the captain of the "Tango". This came during the official press conference held on the eve of the highly anticipated match between Spain and Argentina in the World Cup final.

Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente surprised football fans by recalling his first encounter with Messi in 2004, when he was in charge of Sevilla's youth team in the Honor Division, while Messi was a promising player in Barcelona's youth ranks during the Copa del Rey for youth teams. De la Fuente explained that he imposed strict and close marking on Messi, who was just 16 at the time, successfully neutralizing him and keeping the score goalless until the 70th minute.

Due to the defender assigned to mark him receiving a yellow card, the coach was forced to substitute him to avoid a red card; once Messi was freed from his marker, he managed to break through Sevilla's defense and score four consecutive goals in just 15 minutes, resulting in a heavy defeat for the Andalusian team.

Discussing tactical plans for the World Cup final, De la Fuente sarcastically noted that he has learned his lesson well from that old encounter, emphasizing that he will not risk implementing man-to-man marking on the Argentine star, but will rely on a comprehensive collective defensive system to limit his exceptional threat on the pitch.