Vicente Del Bosque to step down from his position as Spain manager
Vicente del Bosque is set to resign from his position as head coach of Spain.
Following discussions with Spanish Football Federation chief Angel Maria Villar, the 65-year-old confirmed the end of his eight-year reign in an interview on Spanish public radio on Thursday.
The decision comes after the national team exited Euro 2016 at the last-16 stage. Del Bosque had previously stated he would not continue in his role after the tournament in France.
“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 RNE.
Having taken over from Luis Aragones following Spain’s victory at Euro 2008, Del Bosque led his country to World Cup glory in South Africa in 2010.
The successful run under the former Real Madrid coach continued at Euro 2012, as they retained their crown by crushing Italy 4-0 in the final in Kiev.
However, their hopes of retaining the World Cup came to a painful end in Brazil two years later. A stunning 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands was followed by a 2-0 loss against Chile, as Spain failed to even make it out of their group.
Spain did qualify for the knockout stages at Euro 2016, only to lose 2-0 to Italy in Paris on Monday.
