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The leaders of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have rejected the request of the senior national team coach Luis Aragones to step down from his position. Despite this decision, the 68-year-old specialist, who faced a lot of criticism from the press and fans after a shocking defeat in the European Championship qualifying match against Northern Ireland, has not yet decided about his future. "Luis came to the meeting with the federation leadership intending to resign, but the federation president rejected that possibility," said RFEF representative Jorge Carretero. "The coach asked for a couple of days and then will present his final decision. The federation fully trusts and supports him, but the decisive word belongs to L. Aragones." A former player and coach of Madrid's "Atletico" club, Aragones started his career in the national team in 2004, replacing Inaki Saez who stepped down after the European Championship. This year's World Championship was expected to be successful for the Spanish team, but they ended their battle in the quarterfinals, unexpectedly losing later to France who won silver. Interestingly, before the tournament, Aragones stated that he would resign if the team did not reach the quarterfinals, but after receiving RFEF support, he extended his contract. After the defeat to Northern Ireland, 100 thousand Spanish national team fans were surveyed. The majority - 80 percent - demanded the coach's resignation.
