The transition that De Gea started in Kiev

Five years ago, at the Olympic stadium in Kiev, David de Gea (Madrid, 29 years old) gave the first accolade of what should be what Vicente del Bosque called a “sweet transition”.

At the time, the Spanish coach and his coaching staff were already thinking that Iker Casillas' title in the national team was coming to an end.

That October 13, 2015, Spain only played the honor of not harming Slovakia in its fight with Ukraine for the second place that awarded the second ticket of the group to Euro 2016. Spain won (0-1) with a memorable performance from De Gea.

It was the game he needed with the national team to claim the complexity of having to unseat the myth of Casillas.

In Kiev began the sequence that culminated with his title in the European Championship in France.

Five years later, in the face of the tense atmosphere around his figure who lives in Manchester, De Gea has found shelter and warmth in the national team and the coach, although with La Roja he also has pending accounts.

He was the goalkeeper with whom Spain fell in the round of 16 of Euro 2016 and in the same round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia against the host team.

Some of the goals he conceded in the World Cup still take their toll on the heads of many fans.

Foot play

The delicate situation that both De Gea and Kepa are going through in their clubs has increased the tact with which the coach tries to make the team become that refuge that allows them to straighten out their careers.

If the first one appeared at this last concentration with six goals conceded at Old Trafford against José Mourinho's Tottenham -11 goals received in the three Premier League games that have been played-, the second has been relegated to the substitution in the Chelsea.

To Kepa, Luis Enrique granted the title in the friendly of Portugal (0-0), to reinforce his message that he trusts both.

With De Gea, the signs of their intention to rehabilitate him are also constant.

Faced with a warning from Luis Enrique that he had to change the ball output due to the daring pressure of Switzerland, De Gea snapped at the coach: "They pressure me a lot because of this profile."

"Well then, play it with Pau [Torres] or with José Luis [Gayà]," replied the Asturian coach.

The first time De Gea followed his boss's instructions, he responded with a “good, David, good”.

Since the days when he was led at Manchester United by Louis Van Gaal, De Gea was not as demanding with the game with his foot as now with Luis Enrique.

Among the extra sessions that a month ago he had with Miguel Ángel España, goalkeeping coach of the lower categories of the national team, seeking to regain feelings of his youth, De Gea also worked on technical aspects with the ball.

Solskjaer, his current coach at United, does not ask for so much play with his foot.

It is in the national team where De Gea feels he must show that level that even led him to become a good free kick taker.

Have you ever blushed more than one partner who has challenged you at the end of a training session.

It was not the only time that Luis Enrique praised the Manchester United goalkeeper during the match with Switzerland.

In the post-game he did not claim a cover as after his performance in the friendly against Germany in Stuttgart (1-1), but he did want to highlight the intervention he made to Loris in a frank shot: "It was spectacular."