Luxembourg chief admires rivals

The moment has arrived for Luxembourg to play their first match in a finals tournament as they face Spain on Wednesday night in their opening game as 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship hosts. In the other Group A encounter, Hungary and Russia meet with both coaches expressing respect for their rivals.

Focus from start
Luxembourg take on the Spanish in Hesperange, and home coach Ronny Bonvini is relishing a tough task against a nation with a record second to none at junior level. "I'm happy we begin against Spain, they are the favourites," he said. "Having a big game first also means our players have to focus from the beginning, they will give 100 per cent from the off. This way they will be more than ready for the other two big teams! For the past few years, Luxembourg has been in a hole in terms of football. We started to improve six years ago, and this tournament is a chance to show we exist, to earn some respect."

'Clear outsiders'
He added: "This is a very strong group, and I have a lot of admiration for all of them. Hungary have eliminated Portugal; Russia have beaten Italy and England; and best of all, Spain are favourites from my point of view. They have a style of football I admire, probably the best in Europe in my opinion." Although Luxembourg have held France and fellow finalists Belgium in friendlies this season, among a selection of impressive performances, Bonvini stressed: "We have had a couple of good results but are clearly outsiders."

'Always a pleasure'
If Bonvini is in his first finals, Spain's Juan Santisteban has been coaching at this tournament since 1988, when it was still an U16 event, claiming the trophy six times and missing out just once - last term. "I have been involved for 18 years in youth football, and it's always a pleasure to be at these tournaments," he said.

Spanish respect
Spain may be favourites against Luxembourg, but the experienced Santisteban takes nothing for granted. "Maybe this generation isn't the best we've had techinically," he said. "When I see the teams that have been eliminated, I'm a little bit worried about the quality of our opponents. They must be very good and deserve a lot of respect. We'll do our best."

Impressive results
Both Hungary and Russia, who play in Mondorf-les-Bains, showed their quality in the Elite round by surprising mini-tournament hosts Portugal and England respectively. Russia's young coach Igor Kolyvanov knows they must get off to a good start, just as they did in England by defeating Bulgaria 5-0.

'Very important'
"The first match is very important and each team wants good results," he said. "We hope we can produce our best and that everyone will enjoy our game. We have seen several videos of Hungary, they are a very strong side that play nice football and create a lot of chances. We will try to play at the same level as them."

'Not a simple game'
Hungary took the lead in the Portuguese mini-tournament on Matchday 2 with a 4-0 win against Ukraine, and coach József Both feels that match will have been good preparation for his side, who have defender Ádám Présinger suspended. "It is not a simple game, and very important for us," he said. "We don't know the Russians well, but we played Ukraine and we think they play similar football." There are further group fixtures on Friday and Monday, with the top two progressing to the semi-finals.