Saez hopes for perfect finish

In leading Spain to the final of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship against Germany Iñaki Saez has added another important achievement to his coaching CV.

Glittering achievements
Saez, who takes over as Spain's senior national coach after this championship, led Spain's youngsters to their 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship triumph in Romania and 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship victory, as well as earning his nation a silver medal in football at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Club coach
The 59-year-old made three international appearances as a defender while playing for hometown team Athletic Club Bilbao, where he also made his name as a coach before spending time at UD Las Palmas and Albacete Balompié and subsequently taking up his various roles with the RFEF from 1996.

UEFA award
Since then he has looked after Spain's Olympic, U-21, U-20, U-19, U-18 and U-17 teams, and losing just eight of a total of 102 matches. As well as claiming the world and European titles and the Olympic silver medal, his side also won the 1999 Meridian Cup. On the eve of his side's Under-19 final clash with Germany, uefa.com caught up with one of the doyens of youth football coaching,

uefa.com: Your side was under a lot of pressure to beat Slovakia in your final group game. How pleased were you with their performance?

Iñaki Saez: I am happy because we have reached the final. The ideal situation in such tournaments is when there is one match left and the ball is your own court and the only thing you have to do is to win in order to reach the final. We have suffered during the match but we reached our objective, the one of reaching the final.

uefa.com: Your form seems to be getting better and better as the tournament goes on.

IS: This happens all the time with Spain. Last year we lost the first match and then we won the other matches. This year, we succeeded in reaching the final. I think that the team is following an upward curve; which is normal since in Spain we are still in the pre-season and the teams and the players are not yet at the peak of their performance.

uefa.com: What is the most valuable thing that your players are learning at this tournament?

IS: The most important thing is that the players are competing against strong teams, and that we have reached the final, which is a kind of experience that all football players would like to have.

uefa.com: Did you have any preference as to who you would face in the Under-19 final?

IS: The team who deserves to be in the final!

uefa.com: After this tournament of course you have another big challenge ahead of you – taking charge of the senior Spanish national team. What are your feelings about that job?

IS: I think that reaching the [Under-19] final and especially winning it would be good for my reputation as a football coach and my relationship to the Spanish fans.