The story of Luis de la Fuente…the man who brought Spain back to the top

Luis de la Fuente Castillo was born in the Spanish city of Haro in 1961, and his career as a player was not much different from his later coaching personality. A committed and quiet player rather than a star looking for fame.

He played the left-back position, defended the colors of clubs such as Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, and was part of Bilbao’s golden generation that won the Spanish League title twice in 1983 and 1984, in addition to the King’s Cup in 1984.

But De La Fuente was not the type of player whose pictures grace the covers of newspapers or who are surrounded by the media spotlight. He was a player who played his role on the field, before moving to the world of coaching after retiring from playing in 1994 with an Alaves shirt.

After his retirement, De La Fuente did not get a direct opportunity with a big club. He began his coaching path at levels far from media attention, as he coached small teams such as Portugalete and Ourera, before returning to Athletic Bilbao to work with the junior groups.

This stage was a long school in shaping players and understanding the stages of their development. But he also faced difficult moments, most notably his experience with Alaves in 2011, when he was dismissed only a few months after taking over as coach of the team.

De la Fuente then found himself out of the spotlight, without a job or even a clear chance to return to coaching. He did not have a huge media name or a career with major clubs that would give him support in front of sports administrations, and his coaching career could have ended at that point like many coaches who did not get a second chance. But the turning point came after two years in the place he knew well, which was the Sunni national teams.

One unexpected reason for its success was a newspaper advertisement; The Spanish Football Federation was looking for coaches for junior national teams, and de la Fuente was without a club at the time. Eduardo Verdo, the Spanish coach’s biographer, recalls that period, explaining that it was not just a financial issue for De La Fuente, but rather it was almost a psychological issue: “I think he was afraid to say to himself, ‘I’m out of the game.’ He was afraid of disappearing from view and that no one would remember him anymore.”

Without hesitation, de la Fuente made a phone call and put his first foot into the corridors of the union. The announcement eventually led to a conversation with former Spain coach Iñaki Saez, whom De La Fuente knew from his time at Athletic Bilbao, to secure a temporary trial period as coach of the U-19 national team.

In May 2013, the Spanish Football Federation appointed de la Fuente as coach of the under-19 national team. The decision was not a major event in the Spanish media at the time, and many did not view it as the beginning of a project that would later lead the national team.

But for De La Fuente, this opportunity was the beginning of a phase that extended for about a full decade within the Spanish Federation system.

During nine years of working with the Sunni national teams, he not only trained the players, but also participated in shaping an entire generation that later became the backbone of the first team.

With La Roja, he won the European Championship title in 2015, then led the Under-21 team to win the European Championship in 2019, before leading the Olympic team to the silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

During these years, he worked with a group of players who later became essential elements in the first team, including goalkeeper Unai Simon, midfielders Mikel Merino and Fabian Ruiz, and strikers Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal, stars of the 2026 World Cup, as this long knowledge of the players was one of the most important factors that helped him later when he took charge of the first team.

After Spain was eliminated from the round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup by Morocco on penalties, Luis Enrique decided to leave coaching the national team. At that time, expectations were directed towards a coach with a global name, who had extensive experience with major clubs or senior national teams. Therefore, De La Fuente’s choice came as a surprise to a large part of the followers.

How can a coach who has never led a major team in the first division, and most of his experience was in youth teams, take over a team the size of Spain?

These questions accompanied his appointment at the beginning, but he tried to answer them through his own vision for the project. He said during his introduction as coach of the first team: “If there is someone who knows the present and future of Spanish football, it is me.” He believed that years of working with young players gave him an advantage that many did not have: knowing the group he would lead before arriving at the first team.

De La Fuente did not come to completely change the identity of Spanish football, but he tried to address one of the criticisms facing the national team in recent years: possession that does not always turn into an offensive threat.

He maintained the philosophy of passing and control that has been associated with Spain since the era of winning the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, but he added new elements to the playing style. The team has become more direct in the attacking third, with greater reliance on the speed of the wings, crosses, movement between the lines, and the presence of a striker capable of occupying the area, instead of relying on long possessions only.

This balance between control and effectiveness was clearly demonstrated in the 2023 European Nations League, when Spain won the title, before the greatest achievement came in the 2024 European Nations Cup, and ultimately the 2026 World Cup.