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MADRID- When Luis de la Fuente took the \u200bSpanish national team job, he was the quiet federation man after the noise and glitz of Luis \u200cEnrique, a coach many fans had to Google and some media dubbed \u201cLuis de la Who?\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n Three trophies, 50 matches and one World Cup later, the once-mocking question has a resounding answer: he is the future.<\/p>\n De la Fuente has signed a six-year extension until the end of the 2032 European Championship, \u200bthe Spanish FA (RFEF) said on Monday after ratifying his contract at an executive meeting.<\/p>\n The deal, agreed during the \u200btriumphant World Cup campaign, is the longest tenure ever approved for a Spain head coach and \u2060takes him through the 2028 European Championship, 2030 World Cup and 2032 European Championship.<\/p>\n According to sources close to the federation, \u200bit also includes a considerable pay rise \u2014 a fitting reward for a man who has turned patience, planning and a \u200bdecade of academy graft into Spain\u2019s most dominant spell in generations.<\/p>\n De la Fuente has delivered the 2023 Nations League, the 2024 European Championship and the 2026 World Cup. The only trophy to slip away was the less important 2025 Nations League, which Spain lost to Portugal on penalties.<\/p>\n Spain \u200bare also on the longest unbeaten run in their history, 38 matches without defeat.<\/p>\n On Monday, under Madrid\u2019s scorching heat at \u200bthe RFEF\u2019s Ciudad del Futbol training ground, De la Fuente sat alongside federation president Rafael Louzan and the trophies that trace his rise \u200cfrom \u2060youth-team craftsman to architect of the side everyone is trying to catch.<\/p>\n His path was never glamorous. A former hard-working full back at Athletic Bilbao, De la Fuente built his coaching life away from club football\u2019s glare, joining the RFEF in 2013 and working his way through Spain\u2019s youth system.<\/p>\n That background, once used against him, became his greatest strength. Rodri, Unai Simon and Mikel Merino \u200bwere part of his European \u200bUnder-19 champions in 2015. \u2060Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz later shared Under-21 success with him, while Pedri, Martin Zubimendi and Marc Cucurella were part of Spain\u2019s Olympic silver-medal campaign in Tokyo.<\/p>\n By the \u200btime he inherited the senior side in December 2022 after Spain\u2019s disappointing World Cup in \u200bQatar, De la \u2060Fuente already knew the habits and hearts of a generation.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the 2024 Euros, we began to emphasise a word that gave us a great deal of security, confidence and strength \u2014 family. We want the Spanish national team to be a family and that \u2060is honestly \u200bhow we feel,\u201d he said on Monday.<\/p>\n Yet De la Fuente insisted this \u200bwas not a full stop but a starting whistle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are not content with what we have achieved so far,\u201d he said. \u201cThe best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u200bman once presented as a question has become Spain\u2019s long-term answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n