Old Messi lesson shapes De la Fuente's final plan

Long before Lionel Messi became a global icon, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente had already experienced first-hand how quickly the diminutive forward could turn a game on its head. 

As Spain prepare for Monday's World Cup final against Argentina, De la Fuente is hoping the lessons from that painful encounter can help his side contain football's greatest magician.

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The Spain boss revealed on Saturday that Messi will receive "special attention" in the final, but insisted his side would not fall into the trap of assigning a man-marker to the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner -- a tactic that once backfired spectacularly.

De la Fuente recalled facing Messi while coaching Sevilla's youth side against Barcelona's academy, where the young Argentine had already begun weaving the magic that would define his career.

"I first encountered him when I was coaching the Sevilla youth team," De la Fuente said. "We went to Barcelona, and I had heard great things about a kid named Messi."

"So we assigned a player to mark him man-to-man, but in the 70th minute, I substituted the marker because he was on a yellow card. The score was 0-0, and in the span of 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals against us."

The experience convinced De la Fuente that shadowing Messi is a futile exercise.

"So we won't use man-to-man marking this time. We have to stay alert and pay special attention, certainly," he said.

Instead, Spain are expected to rely on collective discipline and constant awareness against a player who, even at 39, has rolled back the years to guide Argentina into another World Cup final with a string of vintage performances.

"Messi is one of a kind," De la Fuente said. "An example for young athletes in terms of his attitude and behaviour, especially given the spectacular World Cup he is playing at his age."

Monday's showdown will also reunite two coaches who share far more than a place in the technical area.

De la Fuente and Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni struck up a friendship in 2017 when the Spaniard was working as an instructor while Scaloni studied for his professional coaching licence. That bond has only deepened the respect De la Fuente holds for the world champions.

De la Fuente strongly pushed back at suggestions that Argentina may resort to skullduggery or streetwise tactics in an attempt to disrupt Spain.

"Oh, please, no, no, no," he said. "I would never dare to say that. I have the utmost admiration for this national team.

"I believe that both Spain and Argentina will have a game plan where talent and good football will rule over everything else."

Spain may have a carefully crafted blueprint to contain Messi, one shaped by a painful lesson from his teenage years and refined by decades of watching him torment opponents. But if the last two decades have taught football anything, it is that even the best-laid plans often unravel when the Argentine genius decides to rewrite the script.