Del Bosque: "No regrets" as tenure winds down
The World Cup-winning Spain manager will leave his post at the end of the month, to likely be replaced by the more pragmatic Joaquín Caparrós.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said he has no regrets as he prepares to leave his post at the end of July after eight years in charge during which La Roja won the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012.
He called time on his tenure after Spain's exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Italy in the first knockout round and will formally leave the post when his contract expires on July 31. The Spanish Football Federation is expected to appoint his successor straight after that date, with former Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla coach Joaquín Caparrós the favourite for the role.
Del Bosque enjoyed a dream start as coach after succeeding Luis Aragonés in 2008, leading Spain to the 2010 World Cup and helping them retain the European Championship two years later. Spain then suffered a shock group stage elimination at the 2014 World Cup and lost 2-0 to Italy in the last 16 of Euro 2016 after finishing second in their group behind Croatia.
Asked if he had any regrets, the 65-year-old former Real Madrid player and coach said: "No, to be honest I don't. I'm not saying that I'm leaving having completed every task I was set, because we knew that was impossible and unachievable."
"To have won another World Cup and another Euro would have been virtually impossible. I go with a feeling of not leaving any loose ends," he was quoted as saying on the website of world governing body FIFA (www.fifa.com).
Del Bosque also denied that his reign ended on a sour note. "There's been a bit of everything. We've had the opportunity to win a lot of things, but we've also suffered defeats," he said. "That's sport. But I leave with a clear conscience and the feeling of having fulfilled my duty to Spanish football."
Throughout his tenure Del Bosque spoke of the importance of continuing the team's attacking style of play focused on high levels of possession, a style at odds with the football played by teams coached by his likely successor Caparrós.
But he said he would have no influence on the way the team played from now on.
"That's a decision for the new coach and I don't think I should have any say at all," he added. "I'm keeping out of it. Whoever comes in will decide and will get it right. Each one of us sees football in a different way and what seems right to me might not be shared by the next [man] in charge. "The next coach must be given absolute freedom to shape things as he sees fit."