Luis de la Fuente Castillo (born 21 June 1961) is a Spanish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former professional player who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He is the manager of the Spain national team. He amassed

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

totals of 254 matches and six goals over 13 seasons, with

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

and

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

, winning two league titles with the former including a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

with the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

in 1984. De la Fuente began working in the Spanish youth teams in 2013, managing the under-19 team to victory in the 2015 European Championship and the under-21 side to the 2019 equivalent. He coached the Olympic team to the silver medal at the 2020 games, and took over at the seniors in 2022, winning the 2023 Nations League and Euro 2024.

Playing career

Born in Haro, La Rioja, de la Fuente graduated from

's youth system, and made his senior debut with the reserves in 1978, in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. On 8 March 1981, he made his first-team – and

– debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. De la Fuente was promoted to the main squad in the summer of 1982. He scored his first professional goal on 26 March 1983, closing the 4–0 home win over Celta. In July 1987, de la Fuente signed for fellow top-flight club

, and continued to appear regularly the following campaigns in defence or as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. In 1991, he returned to Athletic for a 20 million pesetas fee, featuring rarely under coach

Jupp Heynckes Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. For the majority of his playing career he was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won m ...

who arrived one year later. De la Fuente joined Alavés in 1993, with the side in the third tier. After one season, he retired at the age of 33.

Coaching career

Early years

De la Fuente's first managerial job was at

Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,294 inhabitants as of 2021 and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located ...

, in the regional leagues. In summer 2000, he was appointed at

club Aurrerá de Vitoria, but was sacked in March of the following year in spite of a seventh place in the table. After a spell back at Sevilla (academy), de la Fuente returned to Athletic. Initially a manager of the youths and the reserves, he also acted as match delegate for two years before returning to his previous duties. On 13 July 2011, de la Fuente was named Alavés coach, being dismissed on 17 October.

Spain youths

On 5 May 2013, de la Fuente was appointed at the helm of the Spain under-19 team, who won the 2015 UEFA European Championship in Greece. He became manager of the under-21 side in July 2018, after Albert Celades resigned. His first competition was the 2019 European Championship in Italy, conquered after the 2–1 final defeat of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

. On 8 June 2021, de la Fuente and his team filled in as the Spain senior side for a

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

friendly against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, after the aforementioned squad had gone into isolation when

Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. A deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay through short and calm passe ...

tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. They won 4–0 in

Leganés Leganés () is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Considered part of the Madrid metropolitan area, it is located about 11 km southwest of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 188,425, making it the region's fifth most popu ...

. De la Fuente was also in charge of the Spanish Olympic team at the delayed

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo. His side won the silver medal, losing 2–1 to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the final.

Spain senior

On 8 December 2022, de la Fuente was appointed head coach of the senior side, as

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. He is the manager of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playin ...

resigned following a round-of-16

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

elimination at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. He was officially presented four days later, with a contract running until

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

with the option to be extended. De la Fuente won 3–0 in a European qualifier at home to

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in his first game on 25 March 2023, with two goals by 32-year-old debutant Joselu. He led the country to victory in the

2022–23 UEFA Nations League The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League was the third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from June to Se ...

(a first ever), defeating

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5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw in

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. Spain finished the Euro 2024 group stage in first place, scoring five goals and conceding none. De la Fuente's side went on to claim the trophy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with seven wins in as many matches, beating

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

2–1 in the final. In January 2025, de la Fuente extended his contract until the end of Euro 2028.

Style of coaching

Due to his background coaching in youth setups, de la Fuente liked to work with younger players familiar to him and not high-maintenance. Mikel Merino,

Dani Olmo Daniel Olmo Carvajal (born 7 May 1998) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), left winger for La Liga club FC Barcelona, Barcelona and the Spain national ...

, Mikel Oyarzabal, Fabián Ruiz and Unai Simón won the under-21 European championship title during his tenure, and later represented the full team under the same manager. He explained his philosophy by stating that "I come from a grassroots background. Our commitment, to the people we trust in the youth system, is not a pose, it is a conviction". Spain often dominated possession under de la Fuente, also starting to use a more traditional

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

and delivering more crosses to the box.

Personal life

De la Fuente married a woman from

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, with whom he had three children. One son, Alberto, was also involved in the sport, and at one point worked with his father in the

Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. RFEF organizes the natio ...

as an analyst. Having been raised Catholic, de la Fuente embraced the religion again in adulthood.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Athletic Bilbao *

: 1982–83, 1983–84 *

: 1983–84 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

: 1984 (automatically awarded after winning the

)

Manager

Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Spain U23 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

silver medal:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Spain *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2022–23; runner-up: 2024–25 Individual * IFFHS Men's World Best National Coach: 2024

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuente, Luis De La 1961 births Living people Spanish Roman Catholics 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from La Rioja (Spain) Men's association football fullbacks La Liga players Segunda División B players Athletic Bilbao B footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Sevilla FC players Deportivo Alavés players Spain men's youth international footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's under-23 international footballers Spanish football managers Segunda División B managers Athletic Bilbao B managers Deportivo Alavés managers Spain national under-21 football team managers Spain national football team managers UEFA Euro 2024 managers UEFA European Championship–winning managers UEFA Nations League–winning managers Sevilla FC non-playing staff Athletic Bilbao non-playing staff