Luis de la Fuente took part in an event with Clínica CEMTRO in Madrid and spoke about footballers’ health, injuries, and how he will deal with all of this at the World Cup.
He was asked whether Lamine Yamal will play, and he replied: “In a squad selection, we consider every scenario. If you’re winning, if you’re losing, if the opponent goes down to ten men… If you’re winning, if you’re losing, if the opponent goes down to ten men… There are players who can give you 20 minutes, and that also has enormous value.” Although it also seems like he could be referring to Mikel Merino or Víctor Muñoz.
As a result, there was a sense left hanging in the air that Lamine Yamal will gradually get more minutes as the tournament progresses, something he confirmed “in his own way”: We will assess each case because our first idea is to make it all the way to the final. But these are not arbitrary decisions. They are decisions based on, thought through, and justified by those scenarios that we always consider.There will be footballers who will have to wait, and we hope they will become especially important in those final stages.”
He also spoke about a very particular case, that of Dani Olmo: “Olmo arrived injured, we were close to ruling him out, but then he was decisive at the European Championship.”
And finally, he analyzed what modern football is like with the huge accumulation of matches:
“The calendar is what it is, and it has to be accepted as long as it remains that way. That is what all the people involved who have to make these kinds of decisions are there for, whether it be FIFA, UEFA, clubs, federations, players… They should sit down and look at what truly is most appropriate for players’ health.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.
