Sunday’s World Cup final pits together two of international football’s most successful current coaches, Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and Spain’s Luis de la Fuente, whose paths to this point could hardly have looked more different.
Scaloni was appointed Argentina coach in August 2018 amid real scepticism, a modest playing career of just seven senior caps and no real managerial experience to speak of.
He has since built one of the most statistically dominant records in the international game, boasting the highest win percentage of any coach with 100 or more matches in charge, at 79.41 percent, ahead of Vicente del Bosque and Didier Deschamps.
His trophy cabinet includes the 2021 and 2024 Copa America titles, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2022 World Cup.
De la Fuente’s route was built over decades rather than years. He spent much of his career developing talent through Spain’s youth system, winning European titles at Under-19 and Under-21 level, before finally taking the senior job in December 2022.
Since then, he has delivered the 2023 Nations League and a perfect Euro 2024 campaign, winning all seven matches in Germany.
His Spain side arrive at Sunday’s final unbeaten in 37 consecutive matches across all competitions, matching Italy’s record run between 2018 and 2021, and have never lost a knockout match at a major tournament under his charge.
There is a personal thread running beneath the numbers too. In 2017, Scaloni attended his Pro Licence coaching course at Spain’s federation training centre in Las Rozas, where De la Fuente was one of his instructors.
Two very different roads, remarkably similar results, and now a shared stage on Sunday with the World Cup itself on the line.
Photo: Elsa/Getty Images
