We start today with news that broke early this morning – former Spain manager Luis Aragones has died at the age of 75.
The ex-La Roja boss enjoyed a successful career as a manager, with the highlight being the Euro 2008 win with his country – a success that led to them going on to win an unprecedented three major international tournaments in a row. Although Vicente del Bosque was in charge, Aragones laid the foundations for success in the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.
The thoughts of those at Realmadridnews.com are with his family and friends at this sad time.
Real Madrid take on Athletic Bilbao tomorrow night at the new San Mames, the first time Los Blancos will visit Los Leones’ new stadium.
The Basque outfit have a formidable record there, and only lost for the first time in any competition there on Wednesday night, where they slipped to defeat against Atletico de Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
New stadiums is the theme of the day in the Spanish press, with Marca opting for an image of what the new Santiago Bernabeu will look like on its front cover. Club president Florentino Perez announced the companies in charge of the make-over at a presentation on Friday afternoon in which the designs were revealed.
And Marca says when the work is complete, Real Madrid will be moving into not just a new century, but a new galaxy, with their futuristic stadium.
Elsewhere, Jese will start for Real Madrid tomorrow, the first time he has started a La Liga game for Real Madrid this season. To date, he has made 12 appearances, all from the bench. But with Gareth Bale still out injured, the youngster will be thrown in at the deep end, with San Mames a notoriously tough place to go.
