Spain national under-21 football team
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| Nickname(s) | La Roja (The Reds) | ||
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| Association | Real Federación Española de Fútbol |
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| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | López Caro (2008–) | ||
| Most caps | Santi Denia (27) | ||
| Top scorer | Óscar García (12) | ||
| FIFA code | ESP | ||
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| First international | |||
U-23:  Yugoslavia 3-0  Spain(Novi Sad; June 18, 1969) U-21: Yugoslavia 4-1 Spain(Zagreb; October 9, 1976) |
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| Biggest win | |||
Spain 14-0  San Marino(El Ejido; February 8, 2005) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
 Netherlands 5-0 Spain(Utrecht; February 16, 1983) matches only. |
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| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 10 (First in 1982) | ||
| Best result | Winners (1986, 1998) | ||
The Spain national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years.
Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Spanish Under-21 team was formed. The team has a very good record - competition winners twice and runners-up twice. Only Italy have won the competition more times.
Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. For this reason, Spain's brief record in the preceding U-23 competitions is also shown. Actually, Spain played only three competitive U-23 matches. The first was in the "Under-23 Challenge", which they lost. The next two were in a two-team qualification "group" for the 1972 competition - facing the Soviet Union team, they lost 2-1 at home then drew 1-1 away and failed to qualify. Spain did not enter a team in the other two U-23 competitions, but have been ever present in under-21 competitions.
Spain's youth development programs has been challenging the South American dominance in the FIFA U-17 World Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In fact, 20 of the Spanish 23-man squad that won the Euro 2008 came through the ranks of the youth teams; most of them had won titles at the youth level as well.
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[edit] Competitive Record
[edit] UEFA U-23 Championship Record
Spain were randomly chosen to play holders Yugoslavia for the title in a one-off match, which Spain lost.
- June 18, 1969: Yugoslavia 3-0 Spain
- 1972: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 2 in qualification "group".
- 1974: Did not enter.
- 1976: Did not enter.
[edit] UEFA European Under-21 Championship Record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Qualifying Stage | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 1980 | Qualifying Stage | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 1982 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 |
| 1984 | Runners-up | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 11 |
| 1986 | Champions | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9 |
| 1988 | Quarter Finals | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 4 |
| 1990 | Quarter Finals | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 1992 | Qualifying Stage | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
 1994 |
Third Place | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 9 |
| 1996 |
Runners-up | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 14 |
 1998 |
Champions | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 6 |
 2000 |
Third Place | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 7 |
 2002 |
Qualification Playoffs | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 9 |
 2004 |
Qualification Playoffs | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 5 |
 2006 |
Qualifying Stage | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 8 |
| 2007 |
Qualification Playoffs | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
 2009 |
Group Stage | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 27 | 7 |
 2011 |
Qualifying in progress | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 10/17 | 153 | 101 | 25 | 27 | 284 | 117 |
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- Gold background color indicates first place finish. Silver background color indicates second place finish. Bronze background color indicates third place finish.
- Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] Individual awards
In addition to team victories, Spanish players have won individual awards at UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
| Year | Golden Player |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Manuel Sanchís |
| 1998 |
Francesc Arnau |
[edit] Players
[edit] The most caps
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Year(s) | U-21 Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago Denia | Albacete Balompié, Atlético Madrid | 1992–1996 | 27 |
| 2 | Xavi Hernández | FC Barcelona | 1998–2001 | 25 |
| 3 | Óscar García | FC Barcelona, Albacete Balompié | 1992–1996 | 24 |
| 4 | Roberto Fernández | CD Castellón, Valencia CF, FC Barcelona | 1980–1988 | 21 |
| 5 | Juan Alberto Andreu 'Melli' | Real Betis | 2003–2006 | 20 |
| 5 | Raúl García | CA Osasuna, Atlético Madrid | 2006–2009 | 20 |
| 5 | José Manuel Reina | FC Barcelona, Villarreal CF | 2000–2003 | 20 |
| 8 | Txiki Begiristain | Real Sociedad | 1984–1988 | 19 |
| 8 | Daniel Jarque | RCD Espanyol | 2003–2005 | 19 |
| 10 | Andrés Iniesta | FC Barcelona | 2003–2006 | 18 |
| 10 | José Manuel Jurado | Atlético Madrid, RCD Mallorca | 2006–2009 | 18 |
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
[edit] The most goals
| Rank | Player | Club(s) | Year(s) | U-21 Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Óscar García | FC Barcelona, Albacete Balompié | 1992–1996 | 12 |
| 2 | Pablo Couñago | Recreativo, Celta de Vigo, Ipswich Town | 1999–2001 | 9 |
| 3 | Julen Guerrero | Athletic Bilbao | 1992–1994 | 8 |
| 3 | Raúl González | Real Madrid | 1995–1996 | 8 |
| 3 | Jonathan Soriano | RCD Espanyol | 2005 | 8 |
| 6 | Roberto Fernández | CD Castellón, Valencia CF, FC Barcelona | 1980–1988 | 7 |
| 6 | José Gálvez | RCD Mallorca, Valencia CF | 1993–1995 | 7 |
| 6 | Xavi Hernández | FC Barcelona | 1998–2001 | 7 |
| 6 | David Silva | Valencia CF, SD Eibar, Celta de Vigo | 2004–2006 | 7 |
Note: Club(s) represents the permanent clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
[edit] Current squad
Players born in 1986 or later are eligible for the 2009 UEFA European U-21 Championship.
- Caps and goals as of 22 June 2009.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Spain national football team
- Spain national under-20 football team
- Spain national under-19 football team
- Spain national youth football team
- UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
[edit] External links
- siemprecantera (Spanish)
- Spanish under 21 at Soccer-Spain
- Tournament archive at uefa.com
- Europe - U-23/U-21 Tournaments at rsssf
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