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LA CORUNA, Spain, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Former Spain coach Eduardo Toba died in the early hours of Friday morning following a lengthy illness. He was 78.

Toba coached Spain for just four matches between October 1968 and February 1969 and was quickly replaced by Salvador Artigas after failing to give the team a sound start in their qualifying campaign for the 1970 World Cup finals in Mexico.

After qualifying as a doctor, Toba enjoyed a lengthy coaching career in which he took charge of a number of leading Spanish teams including Deportivo Coruna, Real Oviedo and Tenerife as well as the Costa Rican national side.

He later went on to become the director of the national school for football coaches.

Before starting out as a coach, Toba made his name as an athlete, becoming the Spanish national triple jump champion and an accomplished sprint hurdler while has was a student.