Spain's king of crisis management

In his career as a player, José Antonio Camacho frequently got his country out of trouble and as a coach he has earned a good reputation by digging Spain out of a rut.

Disastrous circumstances 
After disappointment in the finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France and an even more embarrassing 3-2 defeat away to Cyprus in their first qualifying game for EURO 2000™, Spain looked all at sea. The bad results and the derision of the Spanish public had led coach Javier Clemente to resign, and it was only through good fortune that Camacho was available to take over the reigns of the national side. He had resigned as coach of Real Madrid CF after just 22 days after a disagreement over appointing his backroom staff and was more or less the only suitable candidate willing to take on the pressure of the job.

A national hero 
As a no-nonsense, left-sided defender with Madrid, Camacho endeared himself to the Spanish public with his honest, forthright manner and ability to deal with the press. A tricky first game in charge saw Spain come from behind to win 2-1 in Israel, but Camacho more than justified his appointment with some incredible results in Spain's remaining qualifying games including a 9-0 win against Austria.

Gracious in defeat 
The finals of EURO 2000™ were moderately disappointing for Camacho, with Spain being knocked out of the quarter-finals by eventual winners France, but in his customary open style, he was gracious in defeat. "If we had not dominated our matches, if we had offered nothing, you could say I got it wrong," he said. "But it was not like that. We went out to win all four matches, we dominated them all. We were unlucky in both games we lost. That was that. We did what we could. I'm very happy with the players. They have given everything that was asked of them in this tournament. It's a sad and bitter feeling to be going out but we couldn't have done anything more."

Success with Vallecano
Having ended his playing career in 1989 after 16 years with Madrid and 81 caps for Spain, Camacho joined the coaching staff at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Two years later, he moved to Madrid's third club Rayo Vallecano as manager and earned them promotion to the Primera División in his first year in charge. In 1993 he took charge of Barcelona-based RCD Espanyol and repeated his feat of two years earlier by winning them promotion to the top flight in his first season at the Montjuic stadium. His best season with Espanyol in 1996 saw the unfashionable club finish fourth in the table and he was immediately offered the coach's job with Sevilla FC.

Madrid calls 
However, he was to spend just half a season at the Sánchez Pizjuán stadium before a run of poor results led him to hand in his resignation. He returned to Espanyol midway through the 1997/98 season but was enjoying only moderate success when Madrid offered him the coach's position.

Spain expects
While the Spanish public were disappointed with the manner of Spain's defeat at EURO 2000™, the blame did not fall on Camacho's shoulders and he repaid the public's faith in him by cruising through qualification for the 2002 World Cup without defeat. Having endeared himself to the impatient supporters and brought the best out of his players, the coach still has an excellent chance of achieving some concrete success for Spain. What may have started out as an expedient decision on the part of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) in hiring the only man available could yet be one of the best decision in Spanish footballing history.