SPAIN are eyeing their fourth European Championship title on Sunday as they take on England in the Euro 2024 final.
La Roja have been one of the stand out sides in Germany, winning all of their games at the tournament so far.
Luis de la Fuente has been the man in the Spanish dugout at Euro 2024 – and SunSport has the lowdown on the impressive gaffer.
Luis de la Fuente was born in Haro, Spain, on June 21, 1961 – and is the head coach of the Spanish national team.
His footballing journey began as a player, coming through Athletic Bilbao’s youth system, making his senior debut for the reserves in 1978.
Three years later, De La Fuente made his first appearance for Bilbao’s first team as a left-back, coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 draw with Valencia.
The Spaniard went on to make 179 appearances for The Lions before making the switch to Sevilla in 1987.
After four years in the south of Spain, he returned to Bilbao for a 20 million pesetas fee.
In 1993, De La Fuente moved to Alaves in the Spanish third tier – and after one season, he decided to hang up his boots aged 33.
At international level, the left-back made one appearance for the Spanish Olympic team in 1988 but was never selected for La Roja’s senior side.
De La Fuente was appointed manager of Club Portugalete in 1997, just three years after retiring.
In the summer of 2000, the Spaniard was then appointed at third-tier side Aurrera but was sacked the following year.
He then had a spell in charge of the Sevilla academy before returning to Bilabo to manage their youth and reserve teams during a six-year stint.
In 2011, he was appointed coach at another former club in Alaves but was dismissed after just eleven games in charge.
After two years away from management, De La Fuente joined the Spanish national team set-up in 2013.
He enjoyed stints as manager of Spain’s U18, U19, U21 and U23 sides before being appointed head coach of the senior team, replacing Luis Enrique in 2022.
De La Fuente boasts an impressive record in charge of La Roja, winning 18 of the 21 games he has been at the helm.
The 63-year-old will is aiming to lead Spain to Euro 2024 glory on Sunday as they take on England in the huge Berlin final.
England have played Spain 27 times in total - here is a look at every result...
Overall, England have won 14, drawn three and lost 10 matches against Spain.
As a player, De La Fuente enjoyed a successful career, winning successive La Liga titles in 1983 and 1984 with Bilbao.
The 1984 season was a double-winning campaign, with The Lions also winning the Copa del Rey.
Bilbao have not won the Spanish top-flight ever since those back-to-back triumphs.
As a coach, De La Fuente had success with the Spanish youth teams, winning the European U19 Championship and European U21 Championship in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
In 2020, he led Spain to a silver medal at the Japan Olympics after they lost to Brazil in the final.
Last summer, De La Fuente secured his first title with the Spanish senior team – as La Roja edged passed Croatia on penalties to win the Uefa Nations League title.
