Vicente del Bosque (born December 23, 1950, in Salamanca, Spain) is a Spanish football coach known for coaching Real Madrid from 1999-2003, its most successful period in recent history, and as a result, makes him arguably one of the illustrious club's most successful coaches of all time. December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Salamanca (population 160,000) is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca, which belongs to the autonomous community (region) of Castile-Leon (Castilla y León). ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Madrid. ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 2003 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Playing career

As a player, Del Bosque was a successful defender who played in La Liga 441 times with 30 goals for Castilla CF, Córdoba, Castellon and Real Madrid. He won 18 caps for Spain and appeared for them at Euro 80. He won five league titles and four Copa del Rey titles with Real Madrid in his playing career. (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain. ... Real Madrid Castilla is a Spanish football team that plays in the Segunda División B. It is the reserve team of Real Madrid. ... Córdoba Club de Fútbol is a football team based in Córdoba in the autonomous community of Andalusia. ... Club Deportivo Castellón is a Spanish football team formed in 1922 and based in Castellón. ... Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Madrid. ... The 1980 European Football Championship (Euro 80) final tournament was held in Italy. ... The Copa del Rey is an annual cup competition for Spanish football teams. ...

Managerial career

Del Bosque served at Real Madrid since the 1964 and rose the ranks at the club, however, he only first managed Madrid for a couple of months in 1994 and then for one game in 1996, while he was then the youth team coach placed in temporal care of the first team when the club President and board of directors sacked the managers. But in 1999/2000, the club management decided to give him the full time job after difficulties with their latest foreign coach, John Toshack. Del Bosque was renowned for his calm and expressionless demeanour. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949 in Cardiff) is a Welsh football manager and former player. ...

In his four seasons in charge Del Bosque ushered the club through its most successful spell in modern history, having steered the club to two UEFA Champions League titles in 2000 and 2002, two domestic titles La Liga in 2001 and 2003, a Spanish Supercup in 2001, a European Supercup in 2002, the Intercontinental Cup in 2002 as well as being runners up in a host of other competitions including the FIFA Club World Championship of 2000, and finishing in the last four of the UEFA Champions League every year he was in charge. Not since the great Madrid side of the 1950s and 1960s that had Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás did the club succeed so consistently. Del Bosque was famed for his humble, patient and unassuming style which saw him manage the club as it underwent a policy during Florentino Pérez's tenure as club President that was known as 'Los Galacticos'- where the world's best and most marketable stars were signed for the club beginning with Luís Figo, through Zinedine Zidane and to Ronaldo. Del Bosque's management was successful in uniting the many different modern player egos in his star studded team which in his first year of appointment were also crowned by FIFA as the 'Club of the Century' in 2000. Del Bosque managed 104 wins out of a possible 186 in his time as coach of Madrid, a remarkable record. The UEFA Champions League (also known as the European Cup, UCL, CE1, C1[1] or CL) is a seasonal club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 2003 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of the La Liga and the Copa del Rey. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The European Super Cup is at stake in an annual football game between the reigning champions of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Champions League Logo Copa Libertadores Logo The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the Intercontinental Cup, and also known as the World Club Championship or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Champions League and the South... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition contested between the leading clubs from all 6 continental confederations. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The UEFA Champions League (also known as the European Cup, UCL, CE1, C1[1] or CL) is a seasonal club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Alfredo Di Stéfano (born July 4, 1926 in Barracas, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-born former footballer and coach. ... Ferenc Puskás (April 2, 1927–November 17, 2006) (Hungarian: Puskás Ferenc, nickname Puskás Öcsi, Spanish: Ferenc Puskas Biro), was a legendary Hungarian football forward and coach. ... Florentino Pérez (born March 8, 1947 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish business man, former politician, and former President of Real Madrid of the Spanish La Liga and current president of ACS. He is most famous for ushering in the clubs period of Los Galácticos. ... Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, born November 4, 1972 in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese football player who is widely regarded as one of the worlds top players of recent years. ... Zinedine Yazid Zidane (IPA: ; born 23 June 1972), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is famous for leading France to winning the 1998 World Cup. ... Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (b. ... The International Federation of Football Association (French: ), commonly known by its acronym, FIFA, is the international governing body of association football. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Shockingly, Real Madrid decided to not renew Del Bosque's contract in 2003, just a day after he won the club its 29th League title and a week after the club signed David Beckham. Del Bosque was offered the post of technical director but turned it down, leading to many suggestions in the Spanish media that there was indeed a much rumoured about political split at the club involving Del Bosque and several players, especially captain Fernando Hierro (who was asked to leave the club in the summer of 2003), on one side, while Jorge Valdano and Florentino Pérez wielded the axe of control to in their words, 'shake up the team', on the other. Perez said in an interview with BBC Sport: "Del Bosque was showing signs of exhaustion. I want to be sincere about this -- our belief that he was not the right coach for the future." Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 2003 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English footballer born in Leytonstone, London. ... Fernando Ruiz Hierro (born March 23, 1968 in Vélez-Málaga) is a former Spanish footballer. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 2003 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jorge Alberto Valdano (born October 4, 1955 in Las Parejas, Santa Fe Province) is an Argentine former football player. ... Florentino Pérez (born March 8, 1947 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish business man, former politician, and former President of Real Madrid of the Spanish La Liga and current president of ACS. He is most famous for ushering in the clubs period of Los Galácticos. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ...

The BBC article states: "It is a strange tale from start to finish - how the shy, moustachioed man from Salamanca came to be in charge of the most expensive and talented bunch of footballers in the modern game, won the biggest trophies on offer and then got the boot in favour of a man yet to be named. With the Real superstars, Del Bosque was extremely popular - partly because he was happier to let them get on with it. Cool as a cryogenically-frozen cucumber, he managed to avoid confrontations with his charges, despite the stellar egos in the squad, and never once lost his calm in front of the media." The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ...

Furthermore, as a testament to how successful Del Bosque was, Real Madrid have failed to reach the heights of living up to their 'galacticos' nametag in recent years since Del Bosque's departure- a tag that they managed to shine with during his time in charge of the same derivative of star quality players. Real have changed seven coaches in the 4 year period since his departure and did not win any major trophys until they won the La Liga title in 2007, under new coach Fabio Capello

After Iñaki Sáez resigned in the wake of a terrible performance at the 2004 European Football Championship, Del Bosque was mentioned as a possible manager of the national side. He wasn't interested in the job, however, and Luis Aragonés became national manager. This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Euro 2004 Logo The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. ... José Luis Aragonés Suárez (born July 28, 1938, Hortaleza, Madrid), sometimes referred to as simply Luis, is a former Spanish footballer and current manager. ...

With Beşiktaş, Del Bosque arrived in Turkey to much fanfare and hope, but failure to deliver results saw him get the sack towards the tail end of the 2004/2005 season. This article is about a district in Ä°stanbul. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After Mexico was barely eliminated by Argentina in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Spaniard was offered the reigns of El Tri but the Spanish technician refused the offer. Vicente del Bosque's cellular phone rang only hours after Mexico's elimination in the World Cup. On the other line "a high representative" of Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación (FEMEXFUT) identified himself, offering him the post of Mexican coach. Del Bosque said the conversation was a "warm one," and was surprised to receive the offer so quickly right in the middle of the World Cup. FEMEXFUT's director asked Del Bosque to think about the offer "with a calm mind." After 18 days Del Bosque made his decision, however: "No Thank You." Del Bosque said he felt honored to be asked to coach Mexico's national side, but that his priories lay in Europe, and Spain especially. Qualifying countries The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the eighteenth instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international association football world championship tournament. ... The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación, A.C. (FEMEXFUT) is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in Mexico. ...

Femexfut had offered Del Bosque a minimum of $2,000,000 per year. During the 2007 Real Madrid's crisis, Del Bosque spoke on the line saying that the departure of Ronaldo is a mistake, and he was one of the of the candidates and possible names to replace Fabio Capello, until Bernd Schuster was awarded the job on 9 July 2007. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol is a Spanish sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Madrid. ... Ender Wiggin szerint a 2007es ligát is megnyerte már Fabio Capello :-D (born June 18, 1946 in San Canzian dIsonzo, Gorizia) is an Italian football manager and former professional player who is currently the coach of Real Madrid. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Career as Coach

• 1999-2003 Real Madrid
• 2004-2005 Beşiktaş

Preceded by Alex Ferguson	UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 1999-2000	Succeeded by Ottmar Hitzfeld
Preceded by Ottmar Hitzfeld	UEFA Champions League Winning Coach 2001-2002	Succeeded by Carlo Ancelotti