December 08, (THEWILL) – Spain has appointed a replacement for departing manager, Luis Enrique and released a statement to that effect on Thursday, soon after announcing Enrique’s departure.
As THEWILL reported, the news of Enrique’s exit was revealed by La Roja on Thursday morning, in reaction to Spain’s earlier-than-expected elimination from the 2022 World Cup round of 16 via penalty shootouts against Morocco.
Within an hour of that declaration, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) revealed that Luis de la Fuente would be promoted from his position as head coach of the Under-21 team to take Enrique’s place in the senior men’s national team.
The statement read: “The RFEF has chosen Luis de la Fuente as the new absolute national coach. The sports director, Jose Francisco Molina, has forwarded a report to the president, Luis Rubiales , in which he recommends the choice of the coach from La Rioja, until now the U21 coach, to lead the new stage that begins after the World Cup in Qatar.
“Molina will present the report for his appointment next Monday, December 12, to the RFEF board of directors.
“Luis de la Fuente has managed successfully in the lower categories of the National Team since his arrival at the RFEF. In 2015, he was proclaimed European champion with the under-19 team. In 2018, he was a gold medalist at the Mediterranean Games with the under-18 team. Subsequently, in July 2018 he was named U-21 coach and a year later, in 2019, he was proclaimed European champion in Italy, winning the fifth win for Spain after beating Germany in the final (2-1). The coach is also an Olympic silver medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“Anecdotally, De la Fuente has to his credit a match for the National Team in June 2021 against Lithuania in Butarque at the gates of Euro 2020 when the national team was confined by Covid protocol.
“The new coach will make his debut in March in Germany’s Euro 2024 qualifying phase and will direct their first two matches against Norway and Scotland.
“Once his appointment was ratified by the board of directors, Luis de la Fuente would be presented on Monday, December 12 at 12:30 p.m. in the Luis Aragones room of the Ciudad del Futbol.”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
