MADRID, 8 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish under-21 soccer coach, Santi Denia, stressed this Saturday that he and his pupils wanted “gold” in the final of the European Championship of the category, lost against the England team 1-0 in Batumi (Georgia ), but qualifying that the status of runner-up also “must always be valued”.
“My goodness, getting to the final and having the options we’ve had to win gold… That they appreciate it, that they don’t take away the medal, that they kiss her like her girlfriend or her mother, because she has a lot of value a silver medal. It is true that we wanted gold, but this must always be valued,” Denia told RTVE microphones.
“They are crying, they are lying on the ground… well, what happens when you lose a final in such a cruel way. But hey, in the end I have thanked this sensational group for all the work this month. It does not compensate them or It works, but I think they are a great group, that they could perfectly be European champions and due to the details we couldn’t be. But happy to have lived with this family for a month”, he commented.
Denia stressed having “tried” until the end, including a missed penalty in the 99th minute. “We had seen that they had some weaknesses, but we had options to score a goal. And for efficiency or whatever, for that bit of luck that it is needed in a final such as the example of the penalty, because it could not have been”, he lamented.
“But I insist on the group and the game, and we have to feel proud of this team, I think it is also important for the Federation,” he said, alluding to the work of the RFEF in training categories. In addition, Denia valued the threats of a brawl with the English squad when it came to celebrating his goal.
“We have to play fair, good ‘fair play’. We are good at playing and, if the other teams don’t want to play fair, we as the Spanish Federation need an image and we demand an image of fair play”, argued the coach of the ‘Rojita’ during his interview.
“They have provoked and luckily the kids have endured that provocation and have shown that they have endured, because it was not easy with that type of provocation. And it’s no excuse, uh, provoking your face in the goals when you’re nervous like that. … and they have endured. I have also congratulated them for that, because we have an image to give and I think we have given it,” he insisted on the matter.
Finally, Denia said that officially getting the ticket for the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024 “was already a very important objective.” “But now it remains to assess this final, this medal and the way in which it has been achieved. More will come,” concluded the Spanish coach.