"I am not that ugly." That was Luis de la Fuente, laughing off the prospect of his face tattooed on Marc Cucurella's arm after Spain lifted the 2026 World Cup on Sunday in New Jersey. It's a good line. But the story behind the man saying it is genuinely remarkable.
De la Fuente is 65 years old. His most significant club job before taking charge of Spain's senior side was an 11-game stint in the Spanish third tier that ended with the sack. He had never managed at senior international level before December 2022. When the RFEF promoted him from within the youth setup to replace Luis Enrique, the reaction in much of European football was a collective shrug. Even in Spain, voices questioned whether the federation was settling.
Three and a half years later: a Nations League, a European Championship, and a World Cup. He is the oldest coach ever to win the World Cup, and the first manager in this era to collect all three trophies within a single four-year cycle.
Why the appointment actually made sense
The key to understanding De la Fuente is not the 2026 World Cup final — it's what happened between 2013 and 2022. After his Alavés dismissal, he spent nearly a decade inside Spain's youth pyramid, winning the U19 Euros in 2015, the U21 Euros in 2019, and taking Spain's Olympic side to a silver medal in Tokyo. Along the way, he coached Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Mikel Merino, and Unai Simón as teenagers.
When he stepped into the senior role, he wasn't inheriting a squad. He was reuniting with players he had worked with since they were 15. That context changes the entire reading of Spain's recent run. The cohesion that made this Spain side so difficult to beat — particularly through Euro 2024, where they went unbeaten past Germany, France, and England — didn't appear out of nowhere. It had been assembled across a decade of federation work.
The RFEF made a calculated bet on institutional continuity over marquee appeal. It paid off in the clearest way possible.
The Cucurella tattoo, the trial, and the applause that needed an apology
De la Fuente's tenure hasn't been clean of controversy. In September 2023, he was filmed applauding then-RFEF president Luis Rubiales at an emergency federation assembly, days after Rubiales had forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the Women's World Cup medal ceremony. De la Fuente apologized within days, calling the moment "inexcusable." In February 2025, he testified as a witness at Rubiales' criminal trial — where he was never accused of wrongdoing — and told the court he had been unaware of the scandal's scale on the flight home from Sydney. Rubiales was convicted. De la Fuente moved on.
His players clearly have. Cucurella's tattoo pledge — "for everything he has done for us" — was made publicly in the early stages of the tournament. Borja Iglesias and Álex Baena were reportedly considering similar tributes. After Sunday's win, De la Fuente held them to it. He suggested the tattoo go somewhere "not visible," which, depending on Cucurella's commitment, could mean anything.
Baena, who came through De la Fuente's youth setups before breaking into the senior squad, described him as a coach who "always gives us that calm, that confidence we need in every moment." That calmness has been the consistent thread. Spain's performances under De la Fuente have rarely looked anxious, even when results were tight.
One detail that adds an odd footnote to the whole story: Argentina's Lionel Scaloni, who De la Fuente defeated on the path to this World Cup, once studied under him during a UEFA coaching course in Spain. Two former pupils of the same classroom, taking completely different routes to the top of the game.
The RFEF extended De la Fuente's contract through 2028 in January, before a ball was kicked at the World Cup. That now looks less like a gamble and more like the most straightforward piece of business the federation has ever done.
