\n\tDUBAI: Sunday\u2019s FIFA World Cup final has been billed as a showdown pitting Lionel Messi against Lamine Yamal, defending champions Argentina against European champions Spain; and perhaps the final appearance of football\u2019s greatest player in the sport\u2019s premier showcase.<\/p>\n
\n\tYet one of the most intriguing stories behind the match has little to do with the players.<\/p>\n
\n\tBefore Luis de la Fuente and Lionel Scaloni became two of international football\u2019s most respected coaches, the Spain manager found himself teaching the Argentine during UEFA Pro License coaching courses organized by the Spanish Football Federation.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs an instructor, De la Fuente taught subjects including the evolution of football and team building, with Scaloni among the aspiring coaches who attended his classes before embarking on his own managerial career.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky enough to teach various coaching courses,\u201d De la Fuente recalled during Euro 2024.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe taught this generation of footballers like Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Raul, football stars who wanted to become coaches, and I had the luck to train Lionel Scaloni among them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDe la Fuente has continued to speak warmly of Scaloni over the years, describing him as a friend and admitting before the semifinal that he would relish the opportunity to meet Argentina in the final.<\/p>\n
\n\tThat possibility became reality after Messi inspired Argentina\u2019s dramatic comeback victory over England, setting up a meeting between two coaches whose paths crossed long before they reached football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe connection adds another dimension to what already promises to be one of the most compelling World Cup finals in recent memory.<\/p>\n
\n\tBoth coaches inherited national teams facing questions about their future, both arrived with relatively limited experience at senior international level, and both responded by building united squads capable of competing with the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
\n\tTheir teams, however, have reached the final in very different ways.<\/p>\n
\n\tSpain have been the tournament\u2019s great neutralizers. Their 2-0 semifinal victory over France extended an unbeaten run of 37 matches, equaling Italy\u2019s European record in men\u2019s international football, and reinforced the belief that De la Fuente\u2019s side have become the benchmark in world football.<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter eliminating France, the Spain coach said his players were \u201cfeeling unbeatable\u201d and insisted Les Bleus had faced \u201cthe best team in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe results support that confidence. Spain have conceded only once while eliminating Portugal, Belgium and France, repeatedly limiting some of the tournament\u2019s strongest attacks.<\/p>\n
\n\tDe la Fuente\u2019s influence also goes beyond tactics. Before taking charge of the senior team in 2022, he spent over a decade in Spain\u2019s youth system, winning the European under-19 and under-21 titles and Olympic silver in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\n\tSeveral key players, including Rodri, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal, had already played under him before reaching the senior side. Rather than simply inheriting this generation, he helped shape many of the players now driving Spain\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\n\tArgentina\u2019s journey to the final has followed a different script. While Spain have imposed control over matches, Argentina have repeatedly found ways to survive them.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe defending champions needed extra time to overcome Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland before producing another dramatic comeback against England in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal.<\/p>\n
\n\tTrailing 1-0 entering the closing stages, Argentina scored twice after the 85th minute, with Messi creating both goals, to secure a second consecutive World Cup final.<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter the match, Scaloni revealed his players sensed England becoming vulnerable as they attempted to protect their lead. \u201cThere was blood in the water, and we went for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\tFor Scaloni, adversity has become one of Argentina\u2019s defining strengths.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI think that this team plays the best when we are facing adversity,\u201d he said after the semifinal. \u201cEverything we believe in was reflected during those final 40 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThat resilience has become the hallmark of this Argentina side. Messi remains the tournament\u2019s leading scorer and the emotional leader.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Lautaro Martinez and Cristian Romero have all made decisive contributions throughout another demanding World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe contrast between the finalists could hardly be greater. Spain have spent the tournament imposing their identity on opponents and gradually taking away the qualities that make them dangerous.<\/p>\n
\n\tArgentina, meanwhile, have shown an ability to adapt to almost any situation, remaining calm under pressure before producing decisive moments when they matter most.<\/p>\n
\n\tThat contrast is what makes Sunday\u2019s final feel like football\u2019s ultimate chess match. De la Fuente has built a team that thrives on control, structure and tactical discipline, while Scaloni has created one that embraces adversity and trusts its collective resilience.<\/p>\n
\n\tPleaseYears after sharing a classroom, De la Fuente and Scaloni will stand on opposite touchlines in New York, each hoping to outthink the other with the World Cup on the line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI: Sunday\u2019s FIFA World Cup final has been billed as a showdown pitting Lionel Messi against Lamine Yamal,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-545697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}