The new Spanish national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, announced his first squad since taking the job and there were three players who had never previously been part of the senior side’s set-up. They are David García, Martín Zubimendi and Joselu Mato, with all three of these Spaniards plying their trade in LaLiga. Here, we explain briefly who they are and how they play.
Martín Zubimendi
Martín Zubimendi (born in 1999) is one of Real Sociedad’s midfield gems and has emerged from their youth academy to take his role in their first team. Born and raised in San Sebastián, he arrived at the Basque club in 2011 at the age of 12. Now, even though he is still only 23, he has already made over 100 appearances for the Real Sociedad first team. In addition, he was part of the squad that won the 2019/20 Copa del Rey.
He is a key cog in the Real Sociedad side that is always fighting for European qualification and he is the latest example of why this club is known for having one of the best youth academies in Spain and Europe. It has produced players such as Xabi Alonso, Antoine Griezmann and Mikel Oyarzabal over the years, while last season the club’s B team even managed to reach and play in LaLiga SmartBank.
In terms of where and how Zubimendi plays on the pitch, he is a positional pivot who stands out for his ability to recover the ball back, to win duels up and down the pitch and to break the lines by driving with the ball. At Real Sociedad, he has the good fortune of sharing the midfield with players like David Silva and Mikel Merino. For his young age, he is a very complete midfielder and that is why Luis de la Fuente has called him up to the senior Spanish national team.
De la Fuente knows Zubimendi well as he worked with the midfielder in several of the Spanish youth categories, such as the U19s, U21s and U23s. They also went to the Tokyo Olympics together in 2021, winning the silver medal in Japan.
David García
David García (born in 1994) plays as a centre-back for CA Osasuna, having joined the Navarre club back when he was just nine years old. He debuted with them in LaLiga SmartBank aged 16 and is now one of the captains of Los Rojillos and one of the best central defenders in LaLiga Santander.
Throughout the years, CA Osasuna has become known as a club that takes pride in having a good defence. This year, they’ve conceded the seventh-fewest goals and one of the key contributors to that has been David García. He is a certain starter for coach Jagoba Arrasate and boasts a powerful physique, which has helped him become the third-top defender in LaLiga Santander for aerial duels won and one of the top defenders for clearances made. In addition, he has managed to score eight goals in five seasons in LaLiga Santander and all of them have been headers.
Los Rojillos are having a good season. They are in the fight to take one of the European places and they are still alive in the Copa del Rey, which is at the semi-finals stage. They could make history, then, as they have never before managed to win this title.
Given that David García has been playing at a very high level in LaLiga Santander for some time now, his work was rewarded with a call-up to the senior Spanish national team for the March fixtures. It’s well-deserved, as this season he has been a wall at the back for CA Osasuna.
Joselu Mato
Joselu Mato (born in 1990) is RCD Espanyol’s most decisive player in attack and, along with Iago Aspas of RC Celta, he is the top Spanish scorer in LaLiga Santander with 12 goals. The RCD Espanyol striker was born in Germany, but moved to Spain when he was just three years old and has a wealth of experience, as he has played in the Premier League, Bundesliga and LaLiga.
Very much a pure No.9, Joselu is a great finisher inside the box and is the third-top player in LaLiga Santander for goals scored from inside the penalty area, with 11. He can fire away with both feet, while he is also good in the air and is the player who wins the most aerial duels in the division, with 128. Thanks to his 1.92m frame, Joselu is second-top for headed goals and headed shots in LaLiga Santander.
While RCD Espanyol are near the bottom and fighting to stay up in LaLiga Santander, Joselu has been the pillar of the team. Together with his strike partner Martin Braithwaite, they have managed to score 20 of the team’s 32 goals this season. Joselu is also just one of nine players who has managed to score against leaders FC Barcelona this league season.
Although he is now 32 years of age, Joselu is currently in the best form of his whole career. By being called up now, Spain are getting a player with experience, intelligence and a knack for scoring goals
