Let's be honest. When you think of the architects behind Spain's recent resurgence, the name Luis de la Fuente sits high on the mantelpiece. He took a...
Let's be honest. When you think of the architects behind Spain's recent resurgence, the name Luis de la Fuente sits high on the mantelpiece. He took a squad written off after the Qatar debacle and turned them into European champions, all while nursing a system that marries the old tiki taka guard with a brutal efficiency in transitional play. So when GoalZaza can exclusively reveal that the Rossoneri considered him for the hot seat in 2024, it forces a question that stings a little. What were they thinkingThis is not a case of a club casting a wide net. This was a serious, deliberate flirtation with a man who had just steered La Roja to the pinnacle of world football. De la Fuente's profile at the time was tantalising. He is not a man for the prima donnas. He is a coach who demands tactical flexibility but rewards discipline; a man who can build a low block when necessary but trusts his players to break with clinical finishing. For Milan, a club that has spent the last few years oscillating between grit and glamour, he looked like the perfect antidote to the inconsistency that has plagued them since the Scudetto triumph.Yet, it did not happen. And that is where the frustration for the Diavolo faithful begins. Did the board bottle it Did they look at his lack of top tier club experience and get cold feet Or was there a quiet realisation that the job was already promised to someone else The rumour mill churns, but the fact remains: a World Cup winning tactician, a man who knows how to build a squad from the ground up, was on the market and Milan chose to look the other way. It feels like a missed penalty, the kind that leaves you scratching your head in the stands.You have to wonder about the criteria at Casa Milan. The search for a manager in 2024 seemed to chase a certain profile: a modern, high pressing ideologue. De la Fuente, for all his success, is a pragmatist wrapped in the Spanish flag. He understands that football is won in the mixer, not on a tactics board. He can adapt. He can park the bus if needed. But that versatility might have been seen as a lack of identity. And so the chance slipped by. For a club that prides itself on its European pedigree, passing on a man who just conquered the world for the national setup is a gamble that reeks of misplaced arrogance.Ultimately, this is a story about what could have been. One can only imagine the scenes at San Siro with De la Fuente marshalling a team from the touchline, orchestrating the kind of grit and intelligence that defines champions. But the board chose a different path. Whether that path leads to glory or another rebuild remains to be seen. One thing is certain: the ghost of this decision will linger until Milan find a manager who can match the steel of the man they left waiting by the phone.
