DE LA FUENTE: "I RESPECT JESÚS NAVAS FOR MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL"

After last night's 'Federación de Periodistas Deportivos de Andalucía' (FDPA) award ceremony in which both the club and Jesús Navas were given recognition, the FDPA had a summit on Tuesday. Also held in La Rinconada, the Spanish national team head coach, Luis de la Fuente, was in attendance. 

When asked about Jesús Navas, Luis de la Fuente gave our captain the following praise: "I respect him for more than just football reasons. I was his coach when he was just 14 or 15 years old, so to see him now with the same youthful enthusiasm is remarkable. It makes me proud to see him reach the milestone of 50 appearances for the national team after having coached him at youth level at Sevilla." 

De La Fuente was also asked about two other academy products, starting with Isaac Romero, about whom he said "I think he's brilliant, I love the energy that the youth players bring." On another note, when addressing the possible return of Sergio Ramos to the national team, he admitted that "it's a tough situation as there are many players who deserve to be in the squad, but only 23 can be selected. At the same time, all selections are made on merit."