Old pal praises the Aragonés approach
Friday, June 6, 2008
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A friendship that began 34 years ago between Luis Aragonés and former Valencia CF midfielder Kurt Jara is proving beneficial to Spain's tournament preparations.
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It was 34 years ago during his greatest era as a striker for Club Atlético de Madrid, which included scoring their goal in their European Champion Clubs' Cup final against FC Bayern München in 1974, that Luis Aragonés met Kurt Jara.
Lasting friendship
Jara was playing for Valencia CF at a time when Real Madrid CF legend Alfredo di Stefano was his coach, and thus Real's city rivals Atlético were always particularly motivated to defeat Los Ché. The two men enjoyed their sporting battles, maintained a friendship during their coaching careers and now, three decades on, have united to bring Spain to their UEFA EURO 2008™ training camp in Neustift. Jara, a former Austria midfielder, is a native of the tiny, picturesque community just outside Innsbruck and when he suggested that Aragonés take La Furia Roja to live and train in the countryside of his youth, it provided Spain with the perfect venue.
Long career
Jara's work has taken him across Europe as both a player and a coach with the cities of Hamburg, Nicosia, Valencia, Gelsenkirchen and Zurich providing him with stop-offs. But he remains a proud Tyrolean and it gave him joy on Thursday to be the first to welcome his old friend to the surroundings he knew as a boy. Often used as a television analyst for Austrian football, Jara is enthusiastic but realistic about the chances of the co-hosts winning their own tournament. However, his next best option is that perhaps Spain can triumph in a task he feels might be beyond Josef Hickersberger's squad.
Memory lane
"I have spent a lot of time with Luis recently while he's been inspecting the facilities – it was great to recall the good old days," Jara told euro2008.com. "In my time in Spain we played at least two or three matches but he always won! Luis was a terrific footballer for Atlético, one of their 'greats'. I'm proud that he's brought Spain to my community but I can't ignore the fact that I'm an Austrian. I'll support them but I must say I don't think Austria can win, indeed it would be beautiful if we reached the quarter-finals. But Spain are here for the trophy and I think they have a smashing team so with a little bit of luck, they are capable of victory."
Significant change
Jara's analysis is that Spain have become much harder to defeat during their run of one defeat in 18 matches partly because of Aragones' leadership, but also thanks to the impact of several Spanish internationals honing their trade in England. "The Spanish philosophy has always been attacking and in past tournaments they've been capable of scoring a couple of goals and still losing a match," Jara said. "Now that some of their key men are in the Premier League you can see the philosophy altering a little and Spain are capable of playing for a result and closing out a match.
'Vital qualities'
"Tournament-winning teams need this skill. But I believe my friend has brought so many other vital qualities, some of which he had as a player, to management. He has always gone his own way as a man – he just does what he believes. I've been a coach for many years and I'd call Luis a footballing phenomenon. With him at the helm I've got faith that Spain can go very far in this tournament."