Sáez handed Spain reins

Iñaki Sáez will officially become the new coach of Spain on 11 July after José Antonio Camacho relinquished the post yesterday following his side's failure to advance beyond the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

Resignation accepted
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed yesterday that it had accepted Camacho's resignation after the 47-year-old offered it the previous day. The Murcia-born coach felt he had come in for undue criticism following Spain's last-eight defeat on penalties by co-hosts the Korean Republic in the Far East.

EURO 2004™ qualifying
With qualifying for EURO 2004™ due to start in September, the RFEF was keen to find an immediate successor for Camacho. Despite the Spanish media tipping the RFEF to make a high-profile appointment, the Federation has put its faith in Sáez to step up from the under-21s to coach the national side. "Sáez is the man," said an RFEF spokesperson. "We have decided to bet on him."

Under-21 triumph
Sáez has worked for the RFEF for six years, mainly with Spain's representative teams, after being brought on board by then-coach Javier Clemente. He led a gifted Spanish side to the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney but his most notable achievement was guiding Spain's youngsters to UEFA European Under-21 Championship success in 1998, beating Greece 1-0 in the final.

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