Former Spain coach Luis Aragones dies

Luis Aragones, coach of Spain’s Euro 2008 winning team, died in the Clinica Cemtro hospital in Madrid on Saturday aged 75 after a long illness.

There will be a minute of silence in his honour before every Spanish Liga match this weekend.

Aragones is a key figure in the history of Spanish football because he led the national team to an elegant triumph at Euro 2008 — after decades of disappointing failure — which started a triumphant cycle that was continued by his successor Vicente del Bosque.

His family revealed that he had been seriously ill for weeks, without giving details of his medical condition. His last coaching assignment had been a brief stint with Turkish club Fenerbahce in 2009, after his contract with the Spanish federation had controversially not been renewed.

Angel Maria Villar, president of the Spanish football federation, said: “I am very sad at the passing away of one of the great Spanish players and a very beloved person. He was an example to all of us.

“He was very special, both on a human and sporting level. He was a great player, coach and national manager. This news is very painful. He shared in the beginnings of an extraordinary period for Spanish football and society.”