Luis Aragonés

Early career

Aragonés began his playing career with Getafe Deportivo in 1957. In 1958, he signed for Real Madrid but never made it into the senior team. He spent most of his time at Real Madrid on loan to other clubs, including Recreativo de Huelva and Hércules and playing for AD Plus Ultra, the Real Madrid reserve team. In 1960, he joined Real Oviedo and made his debut in the Primera División. Between 1961 and 1964, he played for Real Betis, making 86 league appearances and scoring 33 goals.

Atlético Madrid

In 1964, Aragonés was signed by Atlético Madrid where he acquired the nickname "Zapatones", meaning "big boots", since he was known as a free kick specialist. Aragonés picked up silverware in his first season at the club, winning the Copa del Rey (then known as the Copa del Generalísimo). He then helped Atlético to win the La Liga title in 1965–66 and again in 1969–70, where he shared the Pichichi trophy for the highest scorer in the league with his fellow Atlético forward José Eulogio Gárate and Real Madrid's Amancio. A second Copa followed in 1972 and the team achieved a third league title in 1972–73. The following year, Atlético reached the final of the European Cup played against German champions Bayern Munich. During the match, Aragonés scored a goal late in extra time to give Atlético a 1–0 lead. A 119th-minute equaliser from Georg Schwarzenbeck, however, sent the final to a replay, where Bayern prevailed with a convincing 4–0 victory. His…

Spanish clubs

In his first season in charge at Atlético Madrid, Aragonés led Atlético to success over two legs in the 1974 Intercontinental Cup, where the team beat Copa Libertadores winners Independiente of Argentina 2–1 on aggregate. Atlético went on to claim the Copa del Generalísimo and La Liga title in 1976 and 1977 respectively. Aragonés took over at Real Betis in 1981. His time in Andalusia, however, was brief and he returned to the Vicente Calderón in 1982. In his fourth spell at the club, his Atlético side came close to achieving a historic double during the 1984–85 season, winning the Copa del Rey and finishing runner-up in La Liga. The following season, the team reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup, where it was beaten 3–0 by Dynamo Kyiv. Aragonés' success saw him appointed as manager of Barcelona in 1987, where he spent one season, winning the Copa del Rey. He then spent a season at fellow Barcelona based club Espanyol before rejoining Atlético for a fifth spell, where he won the sixth Copa del Rey of his career in 1992. After leaving the club for a fifth time in 1993, he went on to coach Sevilla, Valencia, Real Betis, Real Oviedo and Mallorca. His biggest success during this period was in the 1995–96 season coming within four points of winning the La Liga title with Valencia. In 2001, with the club in the Segunda División, Aragonés took over at Atlético for a sixth time and led the team to promotion back to the Primera División as…

Player

Atlético Madrid

La Liga: 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73 Copa del Rey: 1964–65, 1971–72 European Cup runner-up: 1974

Individual

Pichichi Trophy: 1969–70 Atlético Madrid's second all-time leading top scorer: 172 goals

Manager

Atlético Madrid

La Liga: 1976–77 Copa del Rey: 1975–76, 1984–85, 1991–92 Supercopa de España: 1985 Segunda División: 2001–02 Intercontinental Cup: 1974 Barcelona

Copa del Rey: 1987–88 Spain

UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

Don Balón Award (Best Coach): 1976–77 Marca Leyenda: 2008 IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2008 Gold Medal of the Community of Madrid: 2014

Aragonés died on 1 February 2014 in Clínica CEMTRO hospital, Madrid, from leukemia. The Royal Spanish Football Federation released a statement of "grief and shock" at the death of the man who was the coach at "the start of its most glorious era of successes on the world stage". Diego Simeone, incumbent manager of Atlético Madrid, spoke on the day of Aragonés' death, saying, "From here I want to send a very strong message to his family. Everyone at Atletico is hurting at the loss of such an important part of the club and for the Spanish football." Aragonés' successor as the coach of Spain national football team, Vicente Del Bosque gave his word, "We've woken up to a sad news. Luis has been the father of the successes for the National Team. We are in his hall and I think we will always carry him in our memory." His funeral was held on 2 February in Madrid with the attendance including Spanish players Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi. He was buried in the cemetery of La Paz in Alcobendas. At the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, Atlético Madrid wore shirts with Aragonés' name written in gold inside the collar. Atlético Madrid pays tribute to Aragonés in the club membership cards for 2019–20 season.