MADRID — Spain’s 64-year-old manager Luis de la Fuente looks like a man who has made peace with football’s chaos.

Kind, warm, smiling and armed with the serene certainty of someone who has spent more than a decade building his team piece-by-piece, he heads to the World Cup with a side many regard as the one to beat.

De la Fuente, who spoke to Reuters before travelling to North America, said the secret of the European champions’ rise was more than a clear tactical path, a motivational speech or one man’s genius but something simpler and warmer.

“Some time ago, we began to emphasise a word that gave us a great deal of security, confidence and strength - family’. We want the Spanish national team to be a family,” he said.

“From the first player to the last, we all work with that idea in mind and that makes me feel very calm, very serene. It makes me work knowing that I am in good company and that gives me a great deal of confidence.”