Luis de la Fuente has won the Ballon d’Or Men’s Coach of the Year award after guiding Spain to World Cup glory, earning recognition for his tactical leadership and commitment to team development. The honour was presented to him in London on Monday, and he is (quite rightly) grateful for the efforts he and his players had to put into winning Spain. De la Fuente said the prize was a great honour and that the team comes first. He joined the players in praising the teamwork and the wealth of talent of Spanish football.
De la Fuente is not a coach from the likes of several other high-profile coaches who have been successful in playing, but who have made their name in coaching through Spain’s youth development system. He played a small role in football before not finding success at a club, but in 2013 he joined the Spanish Football Federation, managing the club’s Under-19 team. He steadily rose through Spain’s youth ranks to the senior national team, where he has been successful in the Nations League, Euro 2024 and the World Cup.
Spain were entering the World Cup with a lot of pressure on them and started well with a goalless draw with debutants Cape Verde. As the tournament advanced, the team grew stronger, beating France 2-0 in the semi-finals and Argentina 1-0 in the final in New Jersey, although they were underdogs.
The team also grew stronger in the tournament, and in the semi-finals they beat the France favourites 2-0 and later in the final they beat Argentina (the favourite) 1-0 despite being the underdog. The winner of the game was Ferran Torres’s decisive goal for Spain. De la Fuente said the prize was for years of effort and for the way Spain is developing young players as a way to make them more successful.
