Lionel Scaloni vs Luis de la Fuente: Student faces master in World Cup final

On Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the student will face his master for the most prestigious title in world football.

On one side, Lionel Scaloni, crowned world champion in 2022 with Argentina. On the other, Luis de la Fuente, who defeated England in the EURO 2024 final with Spain, and above all, the man who, in 2017, was holding the chalk in front of a freshly retired Scaloni, sitting in the front row of a classroom at the Ciudad del Futbol in Las Rozas.

"Not only did I have him as a teacher during my coaching course, but I also had a special relationship with Luis because, honestly, I appreciate how approachable he is and the way he is. Fate wanted us to meet again in the final today," the Argentine said after the semi-final against England, never hiding the bond that connects him to De la Fuente.

Montse Tome, former coach of the Spanish women’s team, was part of that same class at the Spanish federation and witnessed the teacher-student relationship from the inside.

She says she joined the course thanks to a scholarship aimed at encouraging women to earn their coaching badges: "There were certain requirements: you had to have played professional football for eight years and have been an international at least four times. Not everyone met them."

It was Gines Melendez, then director of the National School of Coaches and Tomé’s former coach for some matches, who personally called her to encourage her to enrol, assuring her that the course would be important for her.

She recalls a work rhythm similar to school, Monday to Friday, 9am-7pm at the Ciudad del Futbol. "The theory part was really like school, with a very strict schedule," she says.

Since she wasn’t from Madrid and Scaloni lived in Mallorca, trainees from elsewhere stayed on site for the entire theoretical block of each level, before returning home on weekends.

Each level was then completed with practical internships, which the trainees chose individually to put into practice what they had learned at Las Rozas.

Scaloni completed his UEFA A and then his UEFA Pro, after already earning his UEFA B in Italy. Luis de la Fuente, far from imagining he would one day coach the Roja, was teaching tactics and systems of play, with Scaloni among his most dedicated students.

A master who didn’t seem like one

The paradox of this relationship is that, in 2017, the master didn’t look like a future national team coach to the general public: De la Fuente was still juggling his role with Spain’s youth teams and his teaching hours at Las Rozas, far from the spotlight that La Roja would later attract.

What struck his students most, starting with Tome, was his personality. "They’re both easygoing people, she confirms, having worked with both men during the course.

"Luis is an exceptional person, hard not to like, his way of being just makes you want to get along with him. And Scaloni is the same. I think both share a love of football that connects them."

It’s a relationship Tome describes as natural, almost obvious, between a charismatic teacher and a student eager to learn.

This closeness wasn’t limited to the classroom. "I was very lucky to spend time with them, because they had top-level experience from which I learned a lot," she adds.

The group, made up of former top-level footballers like Leo Franco, Javier Saviola, Fernando Redondo, and Andoni Iraola, now at Liverpool, often extended their days well beyond the official schedule: impromptu football games between trainees, working out together, dinners that went on late.

"Maybe it’s those conversations that taught me the most. I have wonderful memories of that course," she says, even calling the Spanish federation’s coaching school the best in the world.

When the student surpasses the master

Nine years later, the roles seem almost reversed. Scaloni, the diligent student from Las Rozas, became world champion in 2022 and won the Copa America twice (2021 and 2024), while his former teacher claimed the 2023 Nations League and EURO 2024.

De la Fuente himself has never hidden his admiration for his former student’s career, even drawing inspiration from it: "I share many of his ideas. In football terms, I’m a big admirer, and on a personal level, I know him and know he’s a wonderful person. I’m happy things are going so well for him."

He even acknowledges a stylistic connection between the two teams, quite something for the former teacher: "Scaloni has posted exceptional numbers since taking charge of the national team."

This shift, Scaloni partly credits to a conversation with his former master. He recounted that after Argentina’s triumph in Qatar in 2022, he had a memorable exchange with De la Fuente, who was still coaching Spain’s youth teams at the time:

"I remember in Qatar, after a coaches’ forum, we had a great talk, just the two of us. We discussed things that, I think, helped him - and I don’t say that arrogantly, but in a good way. And he implemented them in his team brilliantly."

This time, the teacher was learning from his former student, now a world champion. "The identity you see in him and his team, that’s what we all see, or what you also see in ours. So we’re really happy. It’s thoroughly deserved," adds Scaloni.

Two parallel paths, same scepticism

Despite this reversal of roles on the pitch, the two men have had surprisingly similar journeys outside the teacher-student dynamic: both had to deal with the same doubts when they first took charge of a national team.

Appointed as interim head coach of the Albiceleste in 2018, with no experience as a club number one, Scaloni notably drew this jab from Diego Maradona: "A great guy, but he couldn’t even direct traffic."

De la Fuente, long unknown to the general public, also had to prove himself after his appointment in 2022. Scaloni readily acknowledges this mirror between their beginnings: "He’s a fantastic coach because he’s humble, works behind the scenes, and doesn’t seek the spotlight. When he took over the team, many doubted him because he came from the youth squads. But he’s shown that knowledge of Spanish football and people management are worth more than any theory. I see a lot of myself in his journey."

Tome, for her part, sees the same thing from the outside: "Sometimes there’s a lack of patience in football, but both have shown they have the ability and talent to do things well."

The master's pride

As the final approaches, De la Fuente has openly embraced this connection, almost claiming the role of mentor: "I’m really happy that our opponent is Argentina. I think it’s a match that will go down in football history. Besides the bond I have with Scaloni, we have a very good relationship, and there’s a lot of mutual affection and admiration."

He especially praises what Scaloni has become as a manager of people, the very subject he once taught at Las Rozas: "What I admire most about Lionel is how down-to-earth he is. He’s won the World Cup and the Copa America, but when you talk to him, he’s the same man as at the start. He’s built a group where egos give way to the collective. For all coaches, Scaloni’s people management is a lesson."

Scaloni has never broken that close bond with his former teacher: "Luis is a very approachable person. Sometimes we just text each other to see how we’re doing, without talking about tactics. In this business, finding someone so transparent and sincere is rare."

Asked at a UEFA forum about the content of their exchanges, De la Fuente mentioned a more personal topic than tactics, one that brings two national coaches closer than just former classmates: "We talked about the loneliness of being a coach. People only see the 90 minutes of the match, but Lionel and I know what it’s like to make decisions that affect an entire country. Being able to share that with a friend who feels the same pressure on the other side of the world is a relief."

For Tome, who worked for seven years alongside De la Fuente at the Spanish federation after that shared course, what teacher and student ended up sharing goes far beyond the tactics taught at Las Rozas: "Luis and Scaloni, each in their own way, are great managers. And above all, they’re good people. They love what they do, and that makes everything easier: convincing a group, getting them to follow you."

She sees it as the result of the same courage, the courage to make decisions based on their convictions rather than giving in to outside pressure.

Back then, no one could have imagined such an outcome between teacher and student. "A World Cup final? No, honestly, I never thought of that, smiles Montse Tomé. But I could see that Luis, who was then coaching the youth team, had what it took to reach the top. He was a hard worker, and you could tell he loved it, watching matches non-stop."

On Sunday, one of them will lift the trophy. But whatever the result, Montse Tomé has the same affection for her two former classmates: "I always wish them the best."

Click here to read article