for those remaining spots, going into Richmond eighth in the

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MADRID, Spain -- Luis Aragones, the former Spain coach who shaped the teams rise from perennial underachiever to global powerhouse with a long-awaited title at the 2008 European Championship, has died. He was 75. The Spanish football federation announced the death early Saturday, saying Aragones died at a Madrid hospital. He had been battling leukemia. Federation president Angel Maria Villar said Aragones would be remembered as "very special" -- both for his contributions to Spanish football and as a person. "With him we have lived the beginning of an extraordinary phase in football as well as for Spanish society," Villar said. "This has been a painful dawn for our football." Aragones had a successful playing career as a sharpshooting international forward who earned 11 caps for Spain, and then spent the rest of his life as a much-travelled coach. However, he will mostly be remembered for what happened on June 29, 2008, when his team beat Germany 1-0 in Vienna to claim its first major title in 44 years. "Luis Aragones changed the history of Spanish football," Spain captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas said. "And for that we will always be thankful." The Euro 2008 triumph was the culmination of Aragones four-year reign as Spain coach, having taken over a team that for the last 20 years had earned a reputation for always coming up short in major tournaments. But Aragones instilled a new sense of belief in his players, even after losing to France in the second round of the 2006 World Cup. He also made the team adopt the quick-passing "tiki-taka" style of football made famous by Barcelona, and which his players came close to perfecting at Euro 2008. Led by Barcelona midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta -- and the goalscoring of David Villa -- Spain went undefeated through the tournament, but needed a penalty shootout against Italy to advance from the quarterfinals. While Aragones stepped down after the tournament, the team went on to win its first World Cup two years later and then added an unprecedented third straight major title at Euro 2012 under his successor Vicente del Bosque. "Without a doubt, our current run of success is a result of his legacy," Del Bosque said on Saturday, after paying his respects to Aragones family. "He had a long history of coaching experience and he had a special appreciation for the game." But Aragones time in charge wasnt without controversy. He made a racist slur about France striker Thierry Henry -- who is black -- during a training session in October, 2004, and followed that remark with an outburst about Englands colonial past. His comments were believed to have prompted ugly racist chants directed at Englands black players during a friendly against Spain in Madrid. The Spanish Football Federation refused to bow to pressure to fire Aragones, although it fined him 3,000 euros, a punishment which many felt was too lenient. Denying he was a racist, Aragones explained that his comment about Henry was an attempt to motivate forward Jose Antonio Reyes, and he received important backing from several black players he had coached previously. In February, 2007, Aragones won a legal appeal against the Spanish Committee for Sporting Disciplines ruling that his behaviour could have fostered "violent, racist or xenophobic acts." Spanish media also often complained about his grouchy demeanour and had regularly called for his dismissal during the two years before the teams triumph. There was another uproar toward the end of 2006 when he dropped the national teams all-time leading scorer and captain, Real Madrids Raul Gonzalez, arguing that he was past his prime. It proved a masterstroke. The team embarked on a 22-game unbeaten run which culminated with the 2008 title, making Aragones the oldest coach to win a European Championship title. Despite the victory, the Spanish federation made no attempt to persuade him to extend his contract and five days later he moved abroad for the first time to take charge of Turkish club Fenerbahce, a couple of weeks before his 70th birthday. "Im leaving because there wasnt more done for me to stay," Aragones said at the time. His playing career began 43 years earlier, when Aragones joined Atletico Madrid. He scored 123 times in 265 games for the team -- the second highest in its history -- and helped the club win three Spanish league titles and two Copa del Reys. It also reached the 1974 European Cup final, where it lost to Bayern Munich in a replay. Aragones, nicknamed "The Sage of Hortaleza" in reference to the Madrid suburb of his birth, was then appointed as Atletico coach and led the team to the 1975 World Club Championship, the 1976 Copa del Rey and the 1977 league title. He coached Atletico on a total of five occasions and he had two spells each at Mallorca and Real Betis. He was also in charge of Barcelona, Espanyol, Sevilla, Valencia and Oviedo in a career total of 757 games, a Spanish league record. Aragones is survived by his wife Pepa, five children and 11 grandchildren. Larry Doby Jersey . Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. Danny Salazar Jersey . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. 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One year after missing out on the playoff -- a bitter blow for a driver of his talent -- Busch locked up his berth with a victory Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. More important, the 28-year-old has some much-needed momentum after his fourth Cup win of the season. "A heck of a lot different than 365 days ago, Ill tell you that much," he said. This was the volatile Busch at his best. Early on, he spit out some salty complaints over his radio, the No. 18 Toyota not performing like he wanted. At one point, he called his car "a joke." But the crew kept making adjustments until the driver liked the way it handled. "I appreciate them hanging in there with me, although I was pretty graphic sometimes," Busch said. "Im passionate about winning, man." Then, after a rapid-fire series of caution flags near the end, Busch emerged from the pits with the lead. He held off hard-charging Joey Logano by a comfortable 0.740 seconds. Busch has 16 victories this year over NASCARs top three series, also winning nine times in Nationwide and three times in trucks. But hes still chasing the prize he really wants -- that first Cup title. "The championship is number one on anybodys list," he said. "Ive yet to collect the big prize. One of these days it will happen. Maybe itll be 2013." Martin Truex Jr., racing with a broken right wrist, finished third on the 1.54-mile trioval, followed by Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. The rest of the top 10 was Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers. Kyle Busch was among four more drivers locking up their spot in the Chase heading to Richmond next weekend, where the 12-car field will be set for the playoff. He was joined by Harvick, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne, the latter assured of at least a wild card. Points leader Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Matt Kenseth had already claimed playoff berths before Atlanta. That means the final five will be determined at Richmond. Logano is one of the top contenders for those remaining spots, going into Richmond eighth in the points and also holding a victory as a wild-card backstop. He had the fastest car on the track at the end of the race, but ran out of time to run down Busch. "Its just frustrating," Logano said. "BBut in the grand scheme of things, its a big points day for us to get into the Chase going to Richmond.dddddddddddd This helps us a lot. A win wouldve helped a lot more." The rest of the top 10 includes Earnhardt (seventh), Greg Biffle (ninth) and Kurt Busch (10th). Gordon is 11th, but hes yet to win a race. For now, the wild cards belong to 12th-place Kahne (two wins) and No. 13 Truex (one win). "The last couple of weeks, weve been battling and passing and having a great time out there," said Gordon, a four-time Cup champion. "We didnt do that earlier in the year, which is why were in the position were in." Bowyer was dominant through the middle of the race, leading 48 laps, but he radioed his crew that that something seemed amiss in his No. 15 car. On Lap 193, those fears became reality when smoke started pouring from the back of his Toyota going into Turn 1. He managed to creep back around to pit road, but he headed straight for the garage, any hope of winning the race snuffed out. "I dont think they wanted to believe me," Bowyer said about his crew. "But I was pretty sure what I was hearing." At least Bowyer wont have to worry about the poor finish -- he wound up 39th -- costing him a spot in the Chase. That wasnt the case for defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski. Winless for the year and on the Chase bubble, he took over the lead and looked as if he had a shot at a much-needed victory. But a couple of cylinders failed and he began dropping back, finally sputtering to a stop 18 laps from the finish. He finished 35th and will go to Richmond knowing he likely needs a victory to even have a shot at taking a second straight title. He slipped to 15th in the standings, 28 points behind Kurt Busch. "Theres just some things you cant control," Keselowski said. "I guess well look at the positive. We were leading the race when it broke. We were doing all the right things. We just didnt put all the pieces together." Busch knows how that feels. He was in that same position a year ago. "This is a humbling sport," Busch said. "Look at what last years champion, what hes going through. Youve got to take the highs with the lows. Certainly Im not very good at taking the lows. Ill be the first to admit it. But when you get the highs, youve got to treasure em, because you dont know how many more youll get. "This," he added, "was a fun night." China Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '