Luis de la Fuente named best coach of the season at the anniversary Ballon d'Or ceremony in London

The world champions' coach receives the award

Spain national team head coach Luis de la Fuente has been named the best coach of the 2025/2026 season. The announcement was made on October 26 at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, whose live text online coverage was provided by Gazeta.Ru. Under de la Fuente's guidance, the Spanish team won the 2026 World Cup, defeating Argentina in the final.

The anniversary ceremony was held outside France for the first time

The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony takes place on October 26 in London, at the Palladium theatre, and for the first time in history outside France. The organizers linked the choice of the English capital to the fact that the first winner of the award in 1956 was the English footballer Stanley Matthews. The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the best footballer of the calendar year by the French magazine France Football and is generally considered the most prestigious individual award in football. The current holder of the prize is Ousmane Dembele, who won it in 2025; the record holder for the most awards is Lionel Messi with eight Ballons d'Or. One separate detail of the ceremony: the Ballon d'Or website mistakenly published the winners' names in advance.