Raúl García sets sights on new horizons

Crestfallen captain Raúl García told uefa.com it was time to "close this chapter and start a new one" after Spain failed to progress from Group B, victory over Finland proving in vain as Germany joined England in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-finals.

Effort
"We knew we had to score goals and wait, but when you are no longer in charge of your own destiny it is always complicated," said the 22-year-old, whose side needed to win, hope Germany lost to England and muster a four-goal swing to have any chance of progressing. "We did what we could but in the end the miracle didn't happen. At least we have left on a high, returning to the form we more-or-less showed throughout the last two years. We each gave our all until the end."

Leading role
No more so than the skipper himself, named man of the match by UEFA's Technical Study Group after an energetic performance at the Gamla Ullevi as Spain sought to give themselves every chance of prolonging their stay in Sweden. Yet, as he looked vacantly towards a TV screen showing highlights of the match during the presentation, struggling to raise a smile for the photographers, it was clear the personal honour was scant consolation. "This award is decided by people who know a lot about football so I'm happy to have stood out but genuinely, what really matters to me is the team. And we have been knocked out of the tournament," Raúl García rued.

Pivotal defeat
"We knew we had a complicated group where nobody would give us anything and because of little details in the match against England we missed out on qualification – that was the key," added the Club Atlético de Madrid man. "We weren't inferior to England. Maybe in the draw against Germany we deserved to lose, but losing to England was harsh. Our elimination shows what a high standard there is at this tournament, though. We were not there at the right moments, we made too many mistakes and when you do that against teams at this level you go out. But we've learned, and won't forget it. We came here to win the tournament, gave it our all, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. Now we have to go away, close this chapter and start a new one."