Aragones named as new Spain coach

Real Mallorca boss Luis Aragones was named as the replacement for Inaki Saez as the new coach of the Spanish national side on Thursday.

"I want to confirm that we have decided to appoint Luis Aragones to the post of Spain coach," Federation president Angel Maria Villar told a news conference in Madrid.

"He will take charge of the team for approximately the next two years through to the 2006 World Cup."

Villar said Aragones was the consensus choice amongst the nine-man committee. Saez quit following the team's poor showing at Euro 2004.

"The reasons for choosing Luis Aragones were that in the first place he is a magnificent coach," he said.

"Secondly he has a great sporting history, third he is very keen to take up the post and fourthly he enjoys the support of all those people connected with Spanish football."

Villar added that Mallorca had agreed to release the coach from his present contract.

He also said that former coach Saez would be offered the opportunity of supervising the national team's youth sides, a post similar to the one he occupied before taking up the Spain job.

Aragones, who will turn 66 later this month, is the most experienced boss in the top flight, with 757 league games under his belt. He has had spells in charge of leading clubs Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid during his 30-year career as a coach.

The former Spanish international was interviewed for the post of Spain coach in 1991, but was passed over in favour of Vicente Miera and he turned the job down seven years later following the departure of Javier Clemente.

But this time he has made no secret of his desire to take up the post and has received the overwhelming support of the Madrid-based sports media.

Born in the working class Madrid suburb of Hortaleza, Aragones has a reputation for being a strong-minded and outspoken character.

After an illustrious playing career at Atletico, Aragones took over as coach. In the first of five separate spells at the club, he steered Atletico to victory in the World Club Cup in 1975, the Spanish Cup in 1976 and the league title in 1977.

In subsequent stints he led them to two more victories in the Cup and guided them to a return to the top flight after he took charge when they were in the second division in 2001.

Aragones has never been one to allow interference by others in his work and had several high-profile public clashes with club presidents, including Atletico's controversial owner Jesus Gil and former Valencia chief Paco Roig.

He is widely respected by the players who have been under his control but has not been afraid to confront those he has felt have not come up to scratch and won a battle of wills with Brazil striker Romario while boss of Valencia in the mid 1990s.