Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Spain could announce Vicente del Bosque's successor on Friday

The Spanish FA (RFEF) could announce a new national team manager after a board meeting on Friday, with reports indicating Joaquin Caparros remains favourite to get the job, but a short-term interim appointment is possible due to continuing uncertainty over the future plans of RFEF president Angel Maria Villar.

Long-serving boss Vicente del Bosque stepped down after Spain exited Euro 2016 at the last 16 stage to Italy -- a second consecutive major tournament disappointment for La Roja, which followed three straight tournament successes at Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012.

Former Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla coach Caparros, 60, has been widely tipped as the favourite to step in, despite his main successes having come a decade ago and a mixed record in his most recent spells in charge of Neuchatel Xamax, Mallorca, Levante and Granada.

Ahead of the meeting on Friday morning, reports in the local media suggested that long-serving RFEF chief Villar could postpone a decision -- with AS saying that youth team coaches Gines Melendez, Albert Celades and Santi Denia could take over the senior team on an interim basis.

Marca, meanwhile, reports that Del Bosque could be asked to stay on past the end of his contract on Aug. 1 in a short term temporary arrangement which could include World Cup 2018 qualifiers away to Italy and Albania in October. Only one team is set to qualify automatically for the finals in Russia, meaning any early setback in the group could be damaging.

The situation is complicated by an expectation that the long-serving Villar wishes to put himself forward to succeed Michel Platini as UEFA president, but is unsure if he has sufficient support among Europe's federations.

Domestic federation presidential elections which were initially scheduled for earlier in the year have been pushed back to November, allowing Villar more time to consider his future and also to fight off a challenge from former-ally-and-now-sidelined RFEF secretary general Jorge Perez. Perez reportedly favours ex-Spain under-21 and Porto coach Julen Lopetegui as new national coach.

Bigger Spanish names such as Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery, Luis Enrique, Marcelino Garcia Toral and Ernesto Valverde are all not being considered for various reasons. So the challengers for the vacancy have included the less-heralded Caparros, Lopetegui, former Spain midfielder Michel and Juan Antonio Camacho -- who had limited success in the job at Euro 2000 and World Cup 2002 and was sacked from his most recent job as China national team coach following a 5-1 defeat to Thailand.

Also complicating the situation for Villar are allegations of misuse of funds at the federation, while his relationships with both Spain's sports minister Miguel Cardenal and La Liga chief Javier Tebas are very poor.

Del Bosque stepped down as Spain coach in the wake of their Euro 2016 exit. The 65-year-old guided Spain to wins at the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012, but also oversaw their shock group-stage exit at the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. He has said he will take on a role within the federation.

Caparros has spent the past few weeks speaking to many of the top Spanish media outlets, including AS, EFE and radio show Al Primer Toque, while Marca have also tipped him as Villar's favourite for the position.

Caparros said that Spain's model continues to work and added that he has no plans to change it should he take over. "This model has worked for us and with it we have won titles and become a reference point for the world," he said. "We can't change it. The key to success is to get the best performance out of each player based on their skills."

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