End Of Era: Del Bosque officially leaves as Spain coach after Euro 2016 exit

Spain officially parted ways with veteran coach Vicente del Bosque on Monday, one week after La Roja lost to Italy in the round-of-16 at Euro 2016.
Del Bosque, 65, guided Spain to wins at the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012, but also oversaw their shock group-stage exit at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Monday published an official statement thanking Del Bosque for his eight years with the team.
He took over the role following Spain’s European Championship win in 2008 under his predecessor, Luis Aragones.
On Monday the RFEF issued a statement saying that Del Bosque will accept a role within the federation.
“[Spanish federation president] Angel Maria Villar considers Vicente del Bosque to be ‘part of Spanish football patrimony’ and has offered him a chance to continue with the federation. He has accepted and details of the offer will be solidified over the next few weeks.”
That statement comes after Del Bosque had confirmed last week that he would be leaving at the end of his contract and would not accept any role with the federation.

“Without a doubt, I have no intention to remain as coach, but you have to be discreet. No matter what the result of the Euros, I had no doubt about what my future would be,” he told Spanish public radio RNE last week.
“I will continue until July 31. And the president, when he thinks it’s opportune, will make it happen. They haven’t asked me for substitutes. I will do what the federation tells me. There are many qualified people.”
Spain will now turn their focus to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia from a group that also includes Italy. The first qualifying game will be in September.
Former Granada coach Joaquin Caparros, former Spain under-21 boss Julen Lopetegui and ex-La Roja coach Jose Antonio Camacho have all been tipped to succeed him.
Caparros is reported to be Villar’s preferred candidate and a new coach is expected to be named on July 19.

Comments

The story of how Nigeria’s census figures became weaponized - Feyi Fawehinmi

By Feyi Fawehinmi The story of Nigeria’s 1962 census never gets old. Southern politicians seeking to end the north’s dominance of Nigerian politics decided that the only way to do it was through the census. Population figures at the time determined not only parliamentary representation but also revenue allocation and employee distribution in the civil service. In May 1962, the first census under an independent Nigerian government began. There had been a frenzy of mobilization by politicians in the south of the country using pamphlets, radio, schools, churches and mosques. Although the final results were not made public, the preliminary results were quite clear as to what had happened: the north’s population had gone up from 16.5 million in the last census in 1952 to 22.5 million, an increase of 30%. But in some parts of the east, the population had increased by up to 200% and more than 70% in general. The west also reported an increase of 70%. What the preliminary results showed...

Boko Haram’s campaign against education and enlightenment - By Landry Signe

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Boko Haram, the Islamist terrorist group originating from Nigeria is frightened by this enlightening power of education. Unsurprisingly, on Monday, February 19, the group, whose name often translates to “Western education is a sin,” stormed a girls’ school in the village of Dapchi in northern Nigeria to abduct students. Of the 907 schoolgirls who were in the school the day of the attack, more than 100 are still missing as of Sunday. Since it became violent about a decade ago, Boko Haram’s actions, through these and other types of bloody attacks, have resulted in horrifying consequences. Human Rights Watch estimates that Boko Haram has left at least 7 million in need of humanitarian assistance, 2.1 million displaced, and 20,000 civilians dead. Local leaders claim the number is significantly higher. Despite such causalities, it took Boko Haram’s massive kidnapping of 276 sch...

José Mourinho’s miserly brand of football has gone out of fashion - Oliver Kay

By Oliver Kay In an ill-judged attempt to hark back to his prime, and to miserable days that others might have forgotten in Manchester United’s glorious past, José Mourinho found himself telling us that defeat in the Champions League’s first knockout stage was “nothing new” for Manchester United. He reminded us smugly how he inflicted two of those defeats himself, beating Sir Alex Ferguson’s team with Porto in 2004 and Real Madrid in 2013. It was also a reminder of something else: of how different Mourinho seemed when he swaggered into the English consciousness 14 years ago as the supreme leader and strategist behind Porto’s Champions League triumph. At 41, he was the charismatic, hip, young gunslinger to Ferguson’s grizzled sheriff. Memories endure of his celebratory sprint down the Old Trafford touchline when Costinha secured Porto’s 3-2 aggregate victory. Less widely remembered is how Mourinho, disdainful of any reputation but his own, infuriated Ferguson after Porto’s 2-1 ...

ATTENCAO

Search This Blog