Management Lessons from Spain's Euro 2008 Football Championship Triumph

The national football team of Spain is popularly known a 'La Furia Roja', which means 'the red fury' in English. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Federation (known as 'Real Federación Española de Fútbol' or RFEF in Spanish) . RFEF was started in 1908 on the lines of the English Federation and became a part of FIFA in 1909.

Spain began its participation in international tournaments as early as in 1920 in the Summer Olympic Games where it immediately tasted success. As a result, the popularity of football started to grow in Spain. Slowly, more and more teams became part of RFEF...

Shortly after Spain's debacle in the 2004 Euro Cup, coach Iñaki Sáez was replaced by Aragonés. The veteran Spanish player and coach who was in his mid-60s, was entrusted with the responsibility of rebuilding the team for the 2006 World Cup (Refer to Exhibit I for a note on Aragonés). Aragonés soon realized that the major problem with the team was not lack of talent - in fact, it had some of the best players of the country - it was its lack of unity and positive attitude which were the big stumbling blocks...