Freshly crowned European champion Spain is expected to appoint Vicente del Bosque as its new coach this week, writes Ian Hawley. And the former Real Madrid boss could be just the man to lead Spain’s young and talented squad to further titles.
Del Bosque had a reputation for being docile at Real Madrid, because there were so many star players in the team that he could neither tell them what to do, nor drop them from a starting lineup that was rumored to be dictated by the board. Yet he still lead Madrid to two La Liga titles and two European Cup triumphs in four seasons up until 2003. Then he was fired because he had “run out of ideas,” according to the club’s president at the time, Florentino Perez.
After that, it took Madrid a further four years to win another major trophy, while del Bosque followed a brief spell at Besiktas in Turkey playing the role of “understated sage” alongside Spain’s hysterical TV commentators. Former Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman recalls del Bosque’s “skill in trying to get the balance with all the strong personalities.” The popular coach, writes Hawley, will have the job of fusing his “unamplified style” with a roster of players in their prime who are newly liberated from the role of dark horse failures.