Luis de la Fuente (footballer, born 1961)

Luis de la Fuente Castillo (born 21 June 1961) is a Spanish football manager and former professional player who played as a left-back. He is the manager of the Spain national team.

He amassed La Liga totals of 254 matches and six goals over 13 seasons, with Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla, winning two league titles with the former including a double with the Copa del Rey 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 Euro 2024 and the 2023 Nations League.

Playing career
Born in Haro, La Rioja, de la Fuente graduated from Athletic Bilbao's youth system, and made his senior debut with the reserves in 1978, in the Segunda División B. On 8 March 1981, he made his first-team – and La Liga – debut, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Valencia.

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 Sevilla, and continued to appear regularly the following campaigns in defence or as a left winger. In 1991, he returned to Athletic for a 20 million pesetas fee, featuring rarely under coach Jupp Heynckes 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.

Early years
De la Fuente's first managerial job was at Portugalete, in the regional leagues. In summer 2000, he was appointed at Segunda División B 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 1–0 final defeat of Germany in Udine.

On 8 June 2021, de la Fuente and his team filled in as the Spain senior side for a UEFA Euro 2020 friendly against Lithuania, after the aforementioned squad had gone into isolation when Sergio Busquets tested positive for COVID-19. They won 4–0 in Leganés.

De la Fuente was also in charge of the Spanish Olympic team at the delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. His side won the silver medal, losing 2–1 to Brazil in the final.

Spain senior
On 8 December 2022, de la Fuente was appointed head coach of the senior side, as Luis Enrique resigned following a round-of-16 penalty shootout elimination at the 2022 FIFA World Cup by Morocco. He was officially presented four days later, with a contract running until UEFA Euro 2024 with the option to be extended.

De la Fuente won 3–0 in a European qualifier at home to Norway 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 (a first ever), defeating Croatia 5–4 on penalties following a 0–0 draw in Rotterdam.

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 with seven wins in as many matches, beating England 2–1 in the final.

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 and Mikel Oyarzabal 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 and delivering more crosses to the box.

Personal life
De la Fuente married a woman from Andalusia, 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 as an analyst.

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

Player
Athletic Bilbao
 * La Liga: 1982–83, 1983–84
 * Copa del Rey: 1983–84
 * Supercopa de España: 1984 (automatically awarded after winning the double)

Manager
Spain U19
 * UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2015

Spain U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2019

Spain U23
 * Summer Olympics silver medal: 2020

Spain
 * UEFA European Championship: 2024
 * UEFA Nations League: 2022–23