Olympics-Soccer-Senior team coach De La Fuente urges respect for Spanish football after Olympic gold

Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Gold Medal Match - France vs Spain - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Spain players celebrate with Santi Denia coach of Spain as men's national coach, Luis de la Fuente, looks on. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

PARIS (Reuters) - An ecstatic Luis de la Fuente, coach of Spain's senior national team, said his country's football should be more highly valued after the under-23 side's triumph in the final of the Olympic tournament against France on Friday.

De la Fuente led the under-23 team three years ago in their silver medal finish at the Tokyo Games before being named senior national team manager and winning the European Championship last month.