Luis de la Fuente was named the 2026 Men’s Coach of the Year at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, receiving the Johan Cruyff Trophy. The 65-year-old led Spain to the World Cup title and beat Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique to the award.
The Johan Cruyff Trophy result
De la Fuente was named the winner of the men’s coaching prize at the ceremony. The inaugural award went to Carlo Ancelotti in 2024, and Luis Enrique won the award.
SI reported that de la Fuente made history as the first national team manager to win the prize since its inception. GOAL reported that de la Fuente had finished third in the voting when he led Spain to Euro 2024 glory.
Spain’s World Cup campaign
SI reported that Spain went unbeaten in its eight matches at the 2026 World Cup. SI reported that Spain conceded just one goal during its 2026 World Cup campaign.
SI reported that Spain beat Portugal, Belgium, France and Argentina during its World Cup-winning run.
De la Fuente’s acceptance speech
De la Fuente said: "Good evening, it is a real honour for me to receive this prize. It's an honor; just being among the nominees was a prize in itself. Therefore, I want to congratulate the other nominees, who have also earned their place here. I see this as a collective achievement: a wonderful group of players and coaching staff, the best in the world, if I may say so."
De la Fuente said: "I want to thank the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation), the president, the sporting director, and all the staff. And, of course, my agency as well."
De la Fuente said: "Success is not the end goal: this award is not a goal reached, it's a motivation."
De la Fuente said: "I want to end by thanking my family, those who are here and those who are no longer with us. I remember my parents and my brother."
Women’s Coach of the Year
Pere Romeu was named Women’s Coach of the Year at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. He said: "Pleasure to be here and to receive this award. Thank you so much. Congratulations to everyone else."
Romeu said: "Secondly I feel this is a collective prize, a prize for the team. We have some excellent football players and we have won many titles in previous titles."
Romeu said: "I am very grateful for all the football players who have been part of this past season."