Luis de la Fuente is far from a household name outside Spain, but he is one match away from leading his country to Euro 2024 glory, with England standing in his way.
The Spain boss has been in charge since December 2022 after a nightmare campaign at the Qatar World Cup saw La Roja eliminated by Morocco in the last 16 under Luis Enrique.
He stepped up from managing Spain teams at various age levels, but had no experience of taking charge of sides at the elite level either internationally or with clubs.
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However, despite there being significant scepticism surrounding his appointment, De la Fuente has done brilliantly with his squad and Spain have become the first team in men’s Euros history to win six matches in a single tournament.
After beating the likes of Italy, Germany and France already, the Spaniards are favourites to down England in Berlin on Sunday and win the Euros for a fourth time.
It may be the stars of the team like Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Rodri and Dani Olmo but De la Fuente is the man masterminding the success.
Here’s how the 63-year-old, somewhat unexpectedly, rose to the top job in Spain.
De la Fuente’s playing career
The left-back, sometimes deployed as a left winger, played the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, where he came through the youth ranks and made his professional debut.
De la Fuente won La Liga in 1983 and ’84 with Athletic, completing a remarkable double by winning the Copa del Rey as well in ’84.
He moved on to join Sevilla in 1987, returned to Bilbao in 1991 and then finished his career at Alaves in 1994.
A very solid career at the top of the Spanish domestic game, but De la Fuente never won a cap for his country’s senior team. He did play for Spain under-21s.
Early forays into management
De la Fuente first took a managerial job in 1997 with small Basque side Portugalete, then moved on to Aurrera Vitoria, but forged his reputation at a higher level with Sevilla and then back at Athletic Bilbao, managing the youth and reserve teams.
He took the chance to leave Athletic reserves and step up to be a senior manager in 2011 at Alaves but lasted just 11 games before being dismissed.
Spain youth team success
After a break from coaching De la Fuente took charge of Spain under-19s in 2013 and remained in that role for five years before taking over the under-21s.
It was success with these teams that has seen him take the top job, as he won the European Under-19 Championship in 2015 and then the European Under-21 Championship in 2019.
Players who De la Fuente managed at youth level have impressed during Euro 2024 under him, with Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz scoring the goals in the final of the Under-21 Euros in 2019 and excelling this summer at senior level.
Shining with Spain senior side
De la Fuente was appointed Spain boss in December 2022 and despite some fans not being convinced by his CV, the results have been fantastic.
20 matches in charge have yielded 16 wins, two draws and two defeats, with six victories at Euro 2024 so far.
There was an early wobble during his tenure, when Spain lost at Scotland in Euro 2024 qualifying, but things have improved since then.
He has already lifted silverware after winning the UEFA Nations League last year, beating Croatia on penalties in the final after downing Italy in the semis.
Rubiales controversy
While the results have been impressive there were calls for De la Fuente to resign last year after he applauded a controversial speech from shamed former president of the Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales kissed Spain player Jennifer Hermoso against her will as she was collecting her medal after winning the 2023 Women’s World Cup, something he was later punished for.
However, shortly after the infamous incident, Rubiales gave a speech in which he shouted repeatedly that he would not resign and would ‘fight until the end’ to keep his job.
De la Fuente was in the audience and enthusiastically applauded the speech, leading to heavy criticism.
The manager apologised, saying: ‘What I did is unjustifiable. What I’m trying to expose is the context. I was overwhelmed, I didn’t know how to live up to it and I couldn’t control my emotions.
‘When you later reflect and see yourself on cameras… I don’t recognize myself. Inside the forest one sees nothing but branches and when one separates from the forest one sees the true situation.’