Aarón thrives as Spain shine

Aarón Ñíguez was full of pride after his virtuoso performance helped holders Spain overcome hosts Austria on the opening day of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Linz.

'Good start'
The Valencia CF forward was in devastating form on the left-hand side of the Spanish attack at the Linzer Stadion, setting up the first goal for César Azpilicueta seven minutes into the second half with an incisive burst before producing a similar run three minutes later, finishing the move himself with a low shot. "This is a good start for us," he told uefa.com. "I'm reasonably happy with our performance - this win will give us confidence although we didn't play as well as we could. We overcame the heat and a good Austria team so to win by two goals is really pleasing."

'Proud to be here'
Aarón is one of only nine survivors from the Spain squad that won all three Elite round fixtures with half the party involved at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, and his delight at representing his country in a second final tournament in successive years following his role at the 2006 European U17 Championship is evident. "I'm very happy to participate in this tournament. I'm really proud to be here as part of this team," he added. "It's always useful to win the first match in a final tournament and I'm really happy with my goal."

Spain support
The match drew a crowd of 11,700 to the Linzer Stadion with the overwhelming majority backing the host nation, although Aarón believes the presence of a small but significant pocket of Spanish support was a key factor in his side's victory. "It was very good to see Spanish people in the crowd. There was so many people here to support Austria so their support was really important to us," he said. "It was great they were here, we're all very grateful – it was beautiful to see them so far from home and this win is for them."

Paternal pride
As soon as the final whistle sounded to confirm Spain's win Aarón ran to celebrate with his father, who was watching from the stands. The proud parent then came down to the side of the pitch to take photos of his son and his victorious tem-mates. "My father comes to all my games and tournaments - of course he's very proud of me when I play," Aarón added with a smile. "He supported me at the U17s in Luxembourg last year and he's back this year – he’s always here!" Should Spain continue in the same vein in which they have started, Aarón and his father could be in Austria for a while yet.