Luis Aragonés

The player who scored three goals in 11 caps for Spain, then managed them to Euro 2008 glory.

Luis Aragonés Suárez was a Spanish football player and manager. He spent the majority of his career as a player and coach at Atlético Madrid. He played 11 times for Spain, scoring three goals. He later led the Spain national team to their second European Championship title in 2008.

Quick Facts

Full name: José Luis Aragonés Suárez Martínez
Born: 28 July 1938
Birthplace: Hortaleza, Madrid, Spain
Died: 1 February 2014
Place of death: Fuencarral-El Pardo, Madrid, Spain
Position: Midfielder; Forward
Total caps: 392
Total goals: 188

Lore & Background

Aragonés made his international debut for Spain on 8 May 1965 in a 0–0 friendly draw away to Scotland. The first of his three goals for Spain was in a friendly against France in Lyon, in a 3–1 win on his seventh cap on 17 October 1968. He captained the side for the sole time on his 10th of 11 caps, a 3–0 win over Northern Ireland in Seville on 11 November 1970 in qualification for UEFA Euro 1972, and scored in the match. Decades later, he took over the national team after UEFA Euro 2004. He dropped experienced players such as Míchel Salgado and Raúl and revamped with new blood. Spain were unbeaten in qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing as group runner-up to Serbia and Montenegro, then winning a play-off against Slovakia 6–2 on aggregate. At the finals, Spain won all three group games before losing 3–1 to France in the Second Round. Realizing the physical weakness of Spanish players, he employed tiki-taka, a system of short passing which became the biggest football revolution in the history of Spanish football.

Reader's Guide

He scored his first of three goals for Spain in a friendly against France in Lyon, in a 3–1 win on his seventh cap on 17 October 1968. As manager, he took over after UEFA Euro 2004. He employed tiki-taka, a system of short passing which became the biggest football revolution in the history of Spanish football. He then presided over Spain's victorious campaign at Euro 2008, beating Germany 1–0 in the final with a goal from Fernando Torres for their first international honour since 1964.