The Year in Youth Football

By Luke Williams

Czech Republic, Spain and Switzerland took the major honours in an entertaining and rewarding year for youth football.

Danish success
UEFA's European Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 Championships took centre stage. First out of the blocks in April and May was the U17 finals, played over 14 days between 16 countries at 14 different venues across Denmark. The tournament as a whole was a great success, with an average of 3.265 goals per game and a total of 23,200 spectators attending.

Under-17 Championship
On the field, Switzerland lifted the trophy after an unexpected 4-2 penalties win against highly-fancied France in a goalless final. "The biggest moment of my career," was how Swiss coach Markus Frei described his side's victory, while UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh hailed the winning team's "remarkable triumph" and praised their "discipline, structure and commitment".

Big impact 
Among the youngsters to catch the eye were England forward Wayne Rooney, who scored five goals, Swiss captain and defensive rock Philippe Senderos and Cristiano Ronaldo. After the conclusion of the tournament all three went on to make significant impressions at senior level during the remainder of 2002.

Under-21 Championship 
Next up in the youth calendar were the U21 finals in May, which were hosted by Switzerland and attracted much media attention across the continent. The event was boosted by the presence of many players with top-level domestic and European experience who have since put the knowledge gained at this tournament to good use in their club careers.

Outstanding performers 
Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech, Italian forward Massimo Maccarone, Portuguese playmaker Hugo Viana and English midfield player Jermain Pennant were among the outstanding performers whose skills lit up a succession of well-attended matches. Portugal, England, Belgium and Greece were eliminated in the group stage, while Czech Republic advanced to face Italy and France squared off against the Swiss in the semi-finals.

Compelling game 
The Czechs' 3-2 triumph over pre-tournament favourites Italy proved to be the most compelling game of the tournament, with substitute Michal Pospísil's 'golden goal' clinching the win. France beat the Swiss 2-0 in the other semi-final and went into the final as the fancied side, only for the Czechs to emerge 3-1 victors on penalties after a scoreless match.

Historic night 
"We spoke before the game and said how much we wanted to be champions, and I told the players that history only remembers the winners," was Czech coach Miroslav Beránek's assessment of an historic night at the Saint Jakob stadium in Basel.

Hodgson thoughts
Roy Hodgson, who led Switzerland to the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals, felt the standards at the U21 tournament were particularly high: "Quite a number of the players involved in the tournament, particularly in the Czech team, had experience of the [UEFA] Champions League and that can only be a good breeding ground," he said. "Those players able to perform at that level will enjoy an accelerated progress in their careers."

Under-19 Championship
In the words of UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner, the U19 championship, which took place in Norway in July, "brought the curtain down splendidly on the 2001/02 European youth competition season".

Sáez farewell 
Spain lifted the trophy with a 1-0 win against Germany in the final to give coach Iñaki Sáez a perfect send-off before he took charge of the country's senior team. From a playing perspective the tournament produced a feast of attacking football: over eight days, the 14 matches yielded 50 goals at a healthy average of over 3.5 per game.

Thrilling games 
Moreover, there was not a single 0-0 draw and several thrilling encounters which will rank in the annals of youth football history - notably the Republic of Ireland's 3-2 success against England, Slovakia's 5-2 victory over local rivals the Czech Republic and Spain's 3-1 defeat of the Slovakians.

New tournaments begin 
During the summer, the qualification process began for the 2002/03 campaign, giving a new set of youngsters the chance to gain international experience, acquire new skills and advance their football learning.

Perfect summation 
UEFA's new Youth and Amateur Committee chairman Jim Boyce offered the perfect summation of the value of the last 12 months - and youth football as a whole - when he said: "The future of football is in the development of the young. What I honestly think about UEFA, is that of our 52 countries, some of them have had political problems and other difficulties, but football brings all people together." Long may it continue.

2002 Youth Football Roll of Honour:

Under-21 Championship
Winners: Czech Republic
Runners-up: France

Under-19 championship
Winners: Spain
Runners-up: Germany
Third place: Slovakia
Fourth place: Republic of Ireland

Under-17 Championship
Winners: Switzerland
Runners-up: France
Third place: England
Fourth place: Spain

Maurice Burlaz Trophy (for best youth association in Europe)*
Spain

*Taking Under-19 and Under-17 results into account