The classroom moment that bonds World Cup finalists De la Fuente and

Spain manager Luis de la Fuente and Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni will contest the World Cup final in New Jersey, having arrived by different paths but sharing a bond forged in a classroom in 2017. That year, Scaloni, then in a post-playing career limbo, enrolled at the Spanish federation to study for his Uefa Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification in European football. There he met De la Fuente, who taught the technique module while also coaching Spain's Under-19s.

Scaloni passed the course with one of the highest marks in his year and has since acknowledged that De la Fuente gave him and his classmates "an enormous hand." The connection between the two men has endured. De la Fuente, a product of Spain's structured coaching system, and Scaloni, shaped by the unique dressing-room culture of Argentine football, have more in common than their different backgrounds suggest.

Shared paths to the top

Both became national team coaches after periods when football seemed to have left them behind. Both have built teams that function like families, with values rooted in sport and the Catholicism they practice. De la Fuente is bidding to become a World Cup winner and European champion simultaneously, while Scaloni is 90 minutes away from defending his world title. Remarkably, neither man has managed a top-flight club game.

De la Fuente's journey through the ranks

De la Fuente grew up in Haro, in the wine region of La Rioja, home of the annual Batalla del Vino festival. After retiring as a player in 1994, he spent 15 years in various roles at different clubs, including managing in the lower Spanish leagues, youth positions, and assistant coach roles. He was sacked as manager of second-tier Deportivo Alaves in 2011 and spent the next 18 months out of work, drifting away from football.

His return to the game began with an act of faith: he saw a newspaper advertisement for a youth coach position with the Spanish federation. He called former Spain manager Inaki Saez, who recommended him to the federation. The contract was for three months, to take Spain's Under-19s to the European Championship in Lithuania. Spain lost to France in the semi-finals, but De la Fuente did enough to earn a longer contract. He then led a squad featuring Rodri, Unai Simon, and Mikel Merino to win the next Under-19s European Championship, and his career progressed from there.

De la Fuente became Spain's senior national team coach in 2022, having coached most of the current squad since adolescence through the under-19, under-21, and Olympic levels, winning titles along the way. He has known players like Dani Olmo, Martin Zubimendi, Pedri, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Marc Cucurella—and their families—for a decade.

Coaching philosophy rooted in family and faith

De la Fuente's method centers on growing a culture of respect for rivals, patience, and calmness. His work and life are built on sacrifice, humility, and collective responsibility—values that mirror religious principles. These values are evident in small gestures. Half an hour before the Euro 2024 final, with the stadium filling, he was on the phone checking that his family had arrived safely. During this World Cup, De la Fuente, 65, pulled the federation's photographer into a collective embrace with the squad after learning mid-match that the man's mother had died. Before the semi-final against France, a question about his own brother—who died three years ago—visibly broke him in the pre-match news conference.

Family, for De la Fuente, is the foundation of everything. His son, Alberto, is a member of Spain's coaching staff.