RIP Luis Aragones

Casciavit wrote:RIP.

Was responsible for the start of the Spanish dominance. Personally speaking I found his Euro 2008 Spain side much more entertaining than Del Bosque's sides post 2008.

McLewis wrote:Will never forget what he said to Reyes about Thierry Henry. I lost a lot of respect for him as a person behind that.

Lex wrote:

McLewis wrote:Will never forget what he said to Reyes about Thierry Henry. I lost a lot of respect for him as a person behind that.

How on Earth was it glossed over and forgotten about so quickly and easily? And how did he survive such a scandal?

Lex wrote:

McLewis wrote:Will never forget what he said to Reyes about Thierry Henry. I lost a lot of respect for him as a person behind that.

How on Earth was it glossed over and forgotten about so quickly and easily? And how did he survive such a scandal?

Abramovich wrote:

Lex wrote:

McLewis wrote:Will never forget what he said to Reyes about Thierry Henry. I lost a lot of respect for him as a person behind that.

How on Earth was it glossed over and forgotten about so quickly and easily? And how did he survive such a scandal?

He got a slap on the wrist because Spain tolerates racism.

Arquitescu wrote:In a time of humiliation and despondency when we never dreamed of achieving the football we amounted to and the result that was a product of our mental demons. Luis on the other hand had a vision to which he inherited from Villalonga's Atletico Urquizu's Athletic and combined it into the representation of Spanish football that was abandoned by the Basques and Asturians out of fear of being obsolete. We wrote Espana out every tournament after disappointment in a fortress of disappointments as our perennial chokers weren't deemed fit to rise above their mental weaknesses. Unity wasn't bound out of its shackles until Luis created the blueprint for a semantic that not only united player chemistry and vision, but united Espana as a whole.

You made us dream and cast us off the chains of what bound us to eternal derision and ridicule. You gave us the dream of experiencing the night of Madrid 64' that our generation wouldn't walk to experience. You brought out tears within my resolute as granite father. You brought out tears that I never thought would be shed by my existence. You brought the courage of harnessing what we left and lost, and became the architect of what won us another World Cup and Euro.

Goodbye Luis, and thank you for what you contributed to Spanish football.

"Luis Aragones changed the history of Spanish football. And for that we will always be thankful." — Spain and Real Madrid captain Iker Casillas.

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"Without a doubt, our current run of success is a result of his legacy. He had a long history of coaching experience and he had a special appreciation for the game." — Spain coach Vicente del Bosque, who succeeded Aragones after the 2008 European Championship triumph.

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"To me he's the most important person from Spanish football, the person who changed the style of 'La Roja.' He was a valiant, decisive person, a great human. It's a great loss for football, and for life and I think Spanish football owes him an enormous homage." — Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez.

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"Thank you coach, I can never thank you enough for everything you did for me. RIP Luis Aragones." — Spain and Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, who scored the lone goal in the 1-0 Euro 2008 final win against Germany.

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"It's a very sad day. One of the greats has left us. Thank you for making me a great part of what I am today." — Spain and Atletico Madrid striker David Villa, the country's all-time leading scorer.

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"It was an honor to be 'one of yours,' like you enjoyed to say. We'll never forget you!! Thank you for everything! Simply a great, a genius. SO WISE. So many memories!!" — Spain and Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

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"Luis Aragones was a father, a brother, a friend, an idol, a myth in football. All of us who knew you and admired you are very sad." — Former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna, a Brazil-born naturalized Spaniard who was given a key role in the Euro 2008 team by Aragones.

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"He rebelled against and broke through the difficulties that always kept Spain from winning. He showed the path, he showed it was possible. Spain stopped being a possibility and turned into a reality." — Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone.



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"Finalist? That's a worthless title.  No one remembers the finalist." —  his players ahead of the Euro 2008 final, which Spain won 1-0 against Germany.

“You are not Japanese. You understand what I say, don’t you?,” he said to me one night. It seems like I’m watching him, in that hotel room, and I know I will miss him, a lot. I loved him very much. And I talked to him so much too.

I knew his health was not fine, but I never thought his illness was so severe, that he would go so soon. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he used to say when I asked. I used to speak to him ocasionally, as he became so important to me, since the very first day I met him. I’d say he’s the coach I’ve spent more time talking about football with. He would come to my room and we would talk for hours, sometimes about the style – and he’d say, “That’s the key, Xavi, to know how we want to play,” – and always, about the need of having the best players on the field, not to fear anyone, any team, even if they were stronger or faster. “You and I know the ball is faster than them. And that we play with it better than them,” he said. I have the best memories of his talks, or a casual meetup in a hallway, or a dining room. He always gave you something. And he was always right.

Luis used to be very upfront; he’d look at us in the training sessions and say, “You’re being lazy, you’ve come here and I don’t see you… I don’t like that!!” And then he’d walk away. He never deceived people, he’d just say, plain and simple: “You won’t play because you’ve been crap this week… Are you tired or what?.. You’ve been brilliant today, you’ll be great… Do you think I’m stupid?” That’s how he was. Close, real.

The other day I remembered something from the first time he called me up. He didn’t the first time so in September, as soon as I arrived, he said to me, “So, what did you think? You thought the old bastard wouldn’t call you up, did you?” And I was all ashamed, just said, “No, mister, of course not.” And then he just told me “Yeah, right, you think you can deceive me! Go, we’ll talk later,” and that day we talked for hours.

Luis was fundamental to me, to my career, and Spain’s national team history. Nothing would have been the same without him. Everything started with him, as he was the one who brought us together, the ‘small guys,’ Iniesta, Cazorla, Cesc, Villa, Silva… We changed the ‘fury’ for good football and we showed the world that winning is possible by playing good football. If we hadn’t won that Eurocup back in 2008, we wouldn’t have won the World Cup, for which we welcomed the arrival of Del Bosque, another fantastic coach.

I remember he got a lot of criticism at the early stages, but he was the one who paved the way Spain follows up to today. It was him who saw the talent we had as a squad and the guy who played us all together. “I’m playing the good ones, as they’re so good that will make us win the Eurocup.” And we won it. He was brave and smart.

Luis helped me a lot when my self esteem was a disaster. He made me Spain’s leader when I wasn’t at Barça. “You rule here,” he said, “and I’ll take the blame.” I decided the best I could do was return the trust he gave me in the field. If I got elected the best player in that Eurocup, it was all his doing, altough he always denied that. He showed me I mattered. I wasn’t OK for Germany but he waited for me. He would come to Barcelona sometimes , as he was worried for my knee. Paredes came (Spain’s physical trainer) to supervise my work as I was recovering. Luis would always call me. “Work hard, Xavi, don’t fall asleep. I will wait for you”.

If you look for “football” in a dictionary, the word would have to have his picture right next to it. Luis is football in a person.

Goodbye mister. Thank you for everything. And so you know: You and I were never Japanese.