Time is right for Aragonés

Luis Aragonés will turn 70 on 28 July. To put into context Spain's long wait for success on the international stage, Aragonés, the current national coach, was just 25 when they last lifted silverware.
 
Underachievement
That was the 1964 UEFA European Championship, which Spain won on home soil after beating the Soviet Union. In the intervening 44 years, the Selección have earned a reputation for underachievement; for a familiar tale of players arriving specked with stardust from the nation's glamour clubs, but then shrinking in stature in the red of Spain. Four years ago in Portugal, Iñaki Sáez's team failed to survive even the group stage. At the FIFA World Cup in Germany, Aragonés's side sailed through the first round but, despite taking an early lead against France in the Round of 16, their 25-match unbeaten run disintegrated in the face of a spirited French comeback.
 
'On the right path'
Two summers later, however, and, with UEFA EURO 2008™ looming, Aragonés believes Spain are ready to put past woes behind them and finally get it right. Listing Spain's impressive record in qualifying for the major tournaments, the Austria-Switzerland showpiece will be their eighth in succession, he tells uefa.com: "We are on the right path to achieving something. So once and for all let's see if we can get as far as possible, which means getting to the final, and if and when we get there, well, let's win the competition."
 
'Quick thinkers'
Aragonés's confidence springs from several sources, notably the surfeit of clever ball players at his disposal. While acknowledging a lack of "players with massive amounts of power" in Spain's ranks, he stresses his good fortune in the number of "players who are exceptionally quick thinkers on the ball". As an illustration, his midfield lineup for the 1-0 victory over Italy in Elche in March comprised FC Barcelona pair Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, Arsenal FC's Cesc Fabregas, Marcos Senna of Villarreal CF and Valencia CF's David Silva. "Technically we're well equipped. We have players who keep the ball moving at a high rhythm." 
 
Flexibility
Yet while Aragonés has the individuals to encourage a positive attacking approach, he considers a measure of tactical flexibility essential in the modern game. "Over the space of 90 minutes, systems tend to change." In Spain's case, this often means midfielders joining a lone striker, Liverpool FC's Fernando Torres is the obvious candidate, in attack. "Let's say we take to the pitch with a 4-5-1 or a 4-1-4-1, well if the four in the midfield get far up the field, there are times when the system is 4-1-1-4." 
 
Squad unity
He also draws encouragement from the unity his squad displayed in overcoming a poor start to qualifying. "We had two bad results in our opening games," says Aragonés, recalling the defeats in Northern Ireland and Sweden that left Spain fourth in their group at one stage. Yet neither he nor his players ever doubted their destiny. "Whenever there was criticism from the press, it wasn't nice but we were convinced we were doing a good job and throughout we were sure – the players as much as I – that we would qualify." Spain eventually finished two points clear of Sweden after finishing strongly with eight wins and one draw, including a 3-0 defeat of the Scandinavians last November.

'Any team can win'
Looking at the EURO field, Aragonés, whose team face Russia, Sweden and Greece in Group D, says "any team can win" it but regards Germany, Italy and France as the three "most dangerous" opponents. "Italy and France are always there, and Germany too. After that, all the teams are evenly matched. You have Greece who are the reigning champions, Romania who have a very good team. Portugal have great potential. It's difficult to put the 16 teams in any kind of order."
 
Plotting success
A hero as a player with Club Atlético de Madrid, where he won three league titles, Aragonés's coaching CV includes league and cup triumphs with 'Atleti' and another cup success with FC Barcelona, as well as spells with both Seville clubs, RCD Espanyol, Valencia CF, Real Oviedo and, most recently, RCD Mallorca. It has been a long and colourful journey but its final destination remains unclear.

Overdue success
Aragonés, whose contract is due to expire on 30 June, has not been short of critics during his tenure, not least over his exclusion of Raúl González. However, he dismisses the suggestion the EURO represents a last chance to prove his critics wrong, stressing that his "motivation has nothing at all to do with whether I'm leaving or not". Instead his only preoccupation, it seems, is with plotting long overdue success for Spain. "We're on the right path now, the path we set out on at the last World Cup and I think it's a path that will take us where we want to go."