In London, Spain’s World Cup triumph carried Luis de la Fuente to the 2026 Johan Cruyff Trophy, with the national-team coach recognised as the Ballon d’Or’s men’s coach of the year after guiding La Roja to a historic second global title.
De la Fuente finished ahead of Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Aston Villa coach Unai Emery and Bayern Munich’s Vincent Kompany. The award reflected the weight of Spain’s campaign in the United States, where they beat Argentina 1-0 in the final on 19 July.
Spain completed the tournament without defeat and conceded only once throughout the competition. The World Cup success followed De la Fuente’s earlier continental achievement with the national side, having led Spain past England to win the European Championship in 2024.
A collective award in London
Collecting the prize in person at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony, the Riojan coach stressed that the honour belonged to the people around the team rather than to him alone.
“To receive this award is a real honour,” De la Fuente said. “Being among the nominees was already a prize. The others have done more than enough to deserve being here with me.”
He thanked his coaching staff, the Spanish Football Federation, its president and sporting director, federation employees, his agency and his family, including “those who are here and those who are not.”
“This is not an individual prize,” he added. “It belongs to the group I lead. I have the best coaching staff in the world.”
From European champions to world champions
De la Fuente had come close to the same distinction two years earlier. After Spain’s Euro 2024 victory, he placed third in the coaching vote behind Xabi Alonso and Carlo Ancelotti.
This time, the World Cup record proved decisive. Luis Enrique had also arrived among the leading candidates after taking PSG to a second successive Champions League crown, but De la Fuente’s Spain prevailed in the voting.
He closed his remarks with a reflection attributed to Marcus Aurelius: “Individual success makes us visible; collective success makes us invincible.”
