Luis Enrique has officially returned as Spain boss five months after stepping down for personal reasons, it has been confirmed.
Former Barcelona boss Enrique stepped down from the role in June to spend time with his terminally ill daughter, who tragically passed away earlier this year.
The 49-year-old was replaced by his assistant, Robert Moreno, who went unbeaten through his nine matches at the helm – winning seven, and they have sealed their place in next summer’s European Championships finals.
Moreno – previous number two at Roma, Celta Vigo and Barcelona – is said to be very well-liked within La Roja’s squad but has repeatedly said he would step down should Enrique feel he could return to the role.
“Everyone knew that if Luis Enrique wanted to come back he had the doors open,” Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales said on Tuesday.
“Luis Enrique will continue to the Qatar World Cup [in 2022].”
Enrique was appointed national team boss following Spain’s exit from the 2018 World Cup in the last 16.
He was in charge for the Nations League, where Spain failed to reach the semi-finals, and remained in place for the beginning of their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
However, he temporarily stopped taking charge of matches from March this year before officially stepping down three months later due to personal circumstances.
Moreno guided La Roja to next summer’s finals, including a 5-0 win over Romania on Monday and reportedly said a tearful goodbye to the player’s after the game.