Brahim Díaz has chosen Morocco. And he has done it because in the African team they have assured him things that he will never be assured with Spain. Beyond the interest they have shown to seduce him, with views from the Moroccan coach to Milan or calls from the president of the Federation and the king’s entourage, the only tangible reality is that Brahim does not have a guaranteed place in Spain, nor of course ownership. , while in Morocco he will receive the star treatment of the national team.
De la Fuente puts the group before the player
Luis de la Fuente and his staff have been faithful to their work routine and have applied the same ‘modus operandi’ as with the rest of the players. They have included him on the pre-list and he was going to be on the list next Friday to play the friendlies against Colombia and Brazil. Like any player on the pre-list, he has not received a call from the coach, because De la Fuente does not call the players he follows. He only communicates with those who are injured to follow their progress and make them feel supported in that process.
No exception was made with Brahim and he was treated like the rest of the players in the squad. The coach himself confirmed this point at the EFE Sport Business Days at the Alfonso X el Sabio University: “I respect Brahim’s position. Everyone is free to make their decisions. For me, there are always three maxims to be selected: that you can play for the national team, that you want to do so and that the coach selects you. The most important thing is to love, without demands or obligations, with equal rights and obligations. Far from that starting point, you always have me in front of you. I have not talked with him. I call or I don’t call and people do what they think they have to do. Surely I have been the one who selected him the most. I have great appreciation for him and I wish him the best. Total and absolute respect.”
Since the national team they have not wanted to enter the game of Morocco to seduce the player, whom De la Fuente knows well because he has counted on him in lower categories. In fact, the Madrid player has even made his senior debut, scoring a goal in his debut. But the coach has preferred to preserve the balance of the group and maintain the work routine that is in place with all the players who are with the team, contacting them once they are called up and not before. Although it is true that there have been exceptions in specific cases such as that of Robin Le Normand, a player who occupies a position that Spain had problems covering both in the senior team and in the U-21, that of center back. And there have been other cases such as that of Lamine Yamal, which was also in Morocco’s orbit.
The new ‘Isco’ of Madrid
The real problem that Brahim has is that he is not a decisive footballer for the national team like other players who are starters in their teams and who have regularly found a place in the senior squad such as Dani Olmo, Lamal Yamine or Nico Williams. Brahim has not even established himself in Madrid’s starting eleven, where he is Bellingham’s replacement when the Englishman is out due to injury or suspension.
Brahim, 24 years old, is seen by the group of RFEF technicians as a young player of enormous talent and projection, but he must confirm it regularly and gain a starting position in a team in which he will hardly be one with players like Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Camavinga, Kroos or the imminent arrival of Kylian Mbappé. There is a certain similarity to his countryman Isco Alarconanother talent who had brilliant moments in the national team, but lost prominence when he was relegated to the bench at the Bernabéu.
That is why De la Fuente has followed the usual protocol with Brahim, by including him on the list and considering his call-up next Friday, a list in which he was counted on to see him in action at Wembley and at the Bernabéu these days. Which The intention was not to make an exception or to enter into the game that the player is playing with Morocco, since he has been making public the courtship of the North Africans for weeks to see if De la Fuente made any movement trying to ensure his presence with Spain.
The coach’s performance is attracting criticism because there are those who believe that he could have shown more of his waist and could have contacted the footballer to show his interest. But Haro’s player has prioritized the group over the player, maintaining his usual behavior although that may have facilitated the Moroccans’ movements. Spain loses the option of calling up a player who remains to be seen if he ends up being the star that Morocco expects, or remains another diamond that withers on the Madrid bench in the shadow of its great stars. He has talent, something that no one disputes, time will tell if De la Fuente has been successful in preserving the balance of the group or has let a differential player escape.
2024-03-11 12:00:24
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