Luis de la Fuente's trophy haul after Spain's FIFA World Cup 2026 glory

The 65-year-old led La Roja to their second World Cup crown!

Luis de la Fuente retired as a professional football player back in 1990 and began his coaching career with the Portuguese side, Club Portugalete in 1997. After three years, he went to Club Deportivo Aurrerá de Vitoria of Spain in 2000.

Later, he moved to coach the youth side of Sevilla. During his tenure, he developed young players and spent several years doing the same. As his experience grew, Luis de la Fuente got opportunities with the youth setup of Athletic Club and Bilbao Athletic, the club’s reserve side.

Next, he joined forces with Deportivo Alavés and briefly managed their first team in 2011. Notably, this also remains his last senior club coaching role before fully committing to international football.

Things got interesting for De la Fuente in his career after he joined the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in 2013 as the manager of Spain’s Under-19 side. His first major achievement was in 2015 after he guided Spain to glory in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He was then promoted to the Under-21 team in 2018 and a year later Spain won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship under Luis de la Fuente.

Luis de la Fuente’s trophy galore with Spain

He also led La Roja to a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. After Spain’s elimination from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Luis de la Fuente replaced Luis Enrique as the head coach of the senior team. His appointment saw mixed reactions due to a lack of experience, but he made an immediate impact.

In 2023, Spain took down Croatia to win the UEFA Nations League. This ended the nation’s 11-year wait for a major trophy. A year later, La Roja dominated the UEFA European Championship. They won every match to lift the Euro 2024 silverware.

And now, on the grandest stage of them all, Luis de la Fuente has added his name in the list of managers who have won the mega competition. The Spain national football team went on to defeat Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the final by 1-0 after extra time to win the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Also Read: Top seven youngest FIFA World Cup winners ft. Lamine Yamal & Kylian Mbappe

Luis de la Fuente’s trophy cabinet

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