Vicente Del Bosque is a man with one of the most staggering managerial CV’s in world football. Having won the Champions League, the Intercontinental Cup, a World Cup and the European Championships, Del Bosque is the one manager in history to have captured such a diverse array of trophies.
Del Bosque’s distinctive qualities were his calmness in difficult situations and his ability to handle pressure. The Spaniard rarely lost his composure or yelled at his players and had a measured approach based on camaraderie, togetherness and always made sure his team worked as a unit and prioritised on the collective.
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Del Bosque trusted his team and gave them his confidence whenever he could, and would also be protective of them in front of the prying eyes of the media. It’s an approach that has paid dividends for the 65-year-old in his stellar career.
Background and early career
Del Bosque was born in Salamanca, Spain in December 1950 in a family of railway unionists. He turned out for the Salamantino and Real Madrid youth teams before playing for the Blancos. Del Bosque amassed 445 appearances for Real Madrid as a defensive midfielder, winning 5 La Liga titles and 4 Copa Del Rey trophies.
He then took a few years away from the game before returning to Real to take charge of the B team as manager. Though Del Bosque would take charge of the senior team for a few games in 1994 and 1996 as caretaker, it wasn’t until 1999 that he was given the full reigns of the senior team.
Having spent 17 years with the playing squad and then 12 more in different managerial positions at the club, he was more than ready.
Unprecedented success at Madrid
Under Del Bosque, Real Madrid would see one of the most successful footballing phases of the modern era. In his four years as head coach, the club would make the last 4 of the Champions League every year, winning the coveted trophy in 2000 and 2002.
Del Bosque would additionally deliver a couple of La Liga titles as well (2000-01, 2002-03), the Super Cup, Supercopa and the Intercontinental cup in the same tenure.
Despite the Spaniard’s colossal success, the boardroom at the Madrid club has it’s own priorities and fallacies, and Del Bosque’s personality wasn’t considered glamorous enough for the senior management of the club. Despite his popularity in the dressing room and ability to keep a roster of stars happy and motivated, Del Bosque’s contract wasn’t renewed and he was allowed to leave after 4 years at the helm.
The club made it appear as if the coach was exhausted and needed a break, but had in reality shoddily treated a man who had been such an intrinsic part of their history and played a critical role in their most recent success.
The fact that Madrid would go on to change 7 coaches in the next 4 years and not win any major trophies until 2007 says a lot.
Tenure with Spain
Del Bosque had actually been offered the Spanish national team managerial post much before he eventually took charge. After a terrible Euro 2004, the Federation had approached him but he had turned the job down and later went to Besiktas instead.
He took up the job after Euro 2008, a time when Spain had just exorcised past demons in finally fulfilling their potential and capturing a major trophy after decades. What Del Bosque then achieved with La Roja would then catapult Spain into one of the most successful footballing teams in the history of the game.
He would make sure the dressing room was a calm place after Spain lost the opening game of the World Cup to Switzerland, in what was an already complicated group. They would go on to win their next two group games against a high octane Chile and Honduras, before knocking out Portugal, Paraguay, and Germany on their way to the final.
The final was tense, but Andres Iniesta eventually scored the winner and Spain had the most glorious moment of their history with Del Bosque exuberant.
Spain would go on to win Euro 2012 as well, overpowering an exciting Italian team 4-0 in the final, to achieve a staggering record of capturing 3 consecutive major international football trophies.
From underachievers they had stunned the world with their dominance, and Del Bosque had an imperative part to play.
Vicente Del Bosque announced his retirement in June 2016, with the kind of CV that every football manager in the game can only dream of. He entered the management game a gentleman, and left as a gentleman, with only a few minor blemishes on a career that had been glittered with resounding success throughout.
