Vicente del Bosque has signed a contract extension as the Spanish manager on Tuesday. Although the 61-year-old Del Bosque told Onda Cero radio he had "renewed" his deal he did not share the length of the agreement.
Previously he had been offered a two-year contract by the Spanish Football Federation [FEF], enabling him to lead the World Cup defence in Brazil in 2014. The last deal had been due to expire after the European champions defended their title in Poland and Ukraine, where Spain are in the same group as Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland.
The agreement is recognition for his managerial talensts which were discarded by Florentino Perez, the President of Real Madrid, close on ten years ago. It just so happens that the same del Bosque is also the last manager to deliver Perez a Champions League Title - albeit the Special One is edging ever close this season.
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However there is still some way to go for Mourinho and the weight of the Champions League will not be ffset by the La Liga title - history suhhests. A bit like that lengthy period during the seventies and eighties when Del Bosqu played at Real and they were unable to get beyond the semi-finals of the European Cup, with their history seemingly weighing heavily upon the club.
For those who came after the golden era - of Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Paco Gento - the playing achievements failed to match that glorious age of nineteen sixties. Rightly so, as it was an era that heralded six victories for Real Madrid, winning one European Cup in front of their home crowd in 1957 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Having dominated the tournament until the mid sixties they then slipped from the limelight as that great group of players broke up and the closest Madrid came to the tournament final in those years was when the final was hosted in the Bernabeu in 1969 - between Inter Milan and Ajax.
The next time the European Cup Final was hosted in Madrid it was the 1979-80 season and it was Nottingham Forest who were dominant on the night, with Kevin Keegan playing for the losing side, Hamburg SV. For Real Madrid the dream of winning the trophy in their home ground also evaporated that season too. But the 1980's brought more hope and Vicente Del Bosque was at the peak of his playing career when the club finally reached the European Cup Final in Paris.
That game put them up against Liverpool, who themselves were to become an established presence in Europe until the Heysel tragedy in 1985. During that run in 1979/80 the team benefited from del Bosque's skill and deft touch which had seen him play in all eight qualifying games. But it was not a memorable game for him, as a goal from Alan Kennedy settled the game in Liverpool's favour.
Although Del Bosque played eighteen times for his country he was an enigmatic figure, as his skill and talent was too often countered by this perceived lack of effort and physical commitment on the field. Yet his vision and pinpoint passing made him stand out and his pensive interviews earned him the nickname 'The Professor'.
At that time Madrid were merely spectators on the European scene and history now shows that Del Bosque's must have learned much from those defeats. In the 1982-83 he was still part of the squad that travelled to Gothenburg to play Aberdeen in the Cup Winners Cup Final. The Scottish team that night was managed by Alex Ferguson with a blend of names that had yet to become major stars. The team included Willie Miller, Mark McGhee and Gordon Strachan.
In stark contrast Real Madrid travelled to Sweden boasting a host of Spanish internationals and foreign players such as German International, Uli Stielike and Dutch defender and Nottingham Forest player, Johnny Metgod. On a wet and rainy night in Gothenburg the Scottish Cup Winners played a defensive game working on quick counter attacks to open up the Spanish side. After seven minutes Eric Black put them ahead and despite a penalty from Juanito to equalise the game went into extra time. In the 112 minute Aberdeen won a ball in midfield and it led to the winning goal from John Hewitt, which gave the Scottish side a historic victory.
When Del Bosque went into management with Real Madrid he again saw the club's fortunes come and go in Europe as he managed the youth side. A victory in the UEFA Cup two seasons in a row in 1985 and 1986 was the major achievement by the club in the 1980's - despite many big name managers that came to the club. Indeed the early nineties suggested that Real Madrid would no longer dominate the tournament even in the newly generated format, the Champions League.
But 1998 changed that when Real Madrid reached the final in Amsterdam against Juventus and won it by one goal to nil. Two years later they were back in Paris to play Valencia and Del Bosque's side broke down Gaiko Mendieta's side to win by 3 goals to nil. The following year the attempt was foiled at the semi-final stage by Bayern Munich. In 2001/2002 with Real Madrid focused on their centenary season they claimed the ninth European Cup Title in Hampden Park - with brilliance from Raul and Zinedine Zidane beating Bayer Leverkusen.
Vicente del Bosque savoured the moment for his work was all done in his capacity as 'temporary' manager - having replaced John Toshack a few seasons previous - and was at one point not considered the man for the job. However he has never been frightened by the insecurity and left the club in the same understated way in 2003 when his time was up - moving to Besiktas in Turkey for a season.
When in 2008 the Spanish Football Federation came calling - after Luis Aragones departed to Fenerbahce - following Spain's win at the European Champions in Austria and Switzerland, many would have considered it a poisoned chalice as the national team had just won the first major title since 1964. But Del Bosque had no fears and promptly took his talented side to World Cup glory in 2010 in South Africa thus ending the myth of the bygone glory days of the 1960's. An unimaginable achievement - but not for the shy man from Salamanca.
On June 14th in Gdansk at the EURO 2012 finals the Republic of Ireland meet the defending European champions and World Cup holders, Spain. Given his new contract Vicente del Bosque Gonzalez will be in charge of Spain on that day.
In fact, it will be the 1st Marquis of Del Bosque to be precise, after the marquisate was bestowed by Juan Carlos I of Spain last year in recognition of his "great dedication to Spanish sport and the promotion of sporting values".
It will be true sporting aristocracy in our midst.
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