Friday, May 18th, 2012
Spain have named their 23 man squad which will travel to Denmark for the U-21 European Championships. The group will be summoned upon the ‘Soccer City’ of Las Rozas on May 31st, and will stay there until June 8th. The Championships themselves will be held from June 8th until June 25th.
On June 5th there will be a team selected for a game against Russia U-21 which will be used as final preparation for the tournament in Denmark, where they will stay in Silkeborg.
From the selection Sergio Busquets is the most notable absentee, as Barcelona and the RFEF agreed that it would be best if the player were to miss out despite his heavy involvement at this level. His club are the most represented in the squad, with the Catalans providing no fewer than five players in the squad.
The experience of Juan Mata and Javi Martinez will be central to any potential success in the tournament, and Coach Luis Milla will be reliant on the two players who own World Cup winners medals to lead the squad.
Spain U-21 Squad
Goalkeepers: David De Gea (Atlético Madrid), Diego Mariño (Villarreal), Rubén Miño (Barcelona)
Defenders: Mikel San José Domínguez (Athletic Bilbao), Álvaro Domínguez (Atlético Madrid), Dídac Vilà (AC Milan), César Azpilicueta (Marseille), Alberto Botía, Jose Ángel (both Sporting Gijón), Martín Montoya (Barcelona), Víctor Ruiz (Napoli)
Midfielders: Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Dani Parejo (Getafe), Diego Capel (Sevilla), Juan Mata (Valencia), Ander Herrera (Athletic Bilbao), Rubén Pérez (Deportivo La Coruña)¸ Thiago Alcántara, Jeffren Suarez (both Barcelona).
Attackers: Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao), Bojan Krkic (Barcelona), Emilio Nsue (Real Mallorca), Adrián López (Deportivo La Coruña)
The Spanish are alongside England, Ukraine and Czech Republic in Group B at the tournament and get underway on June 12th against the English.
Group Stage
June 12th @ 20.45: Spain vs. England in Herning
June 15th @ 18.00: Czech Republic vs. Spain in Viborg
June 19th @ 20.45: Ukraine v Spain in Herning
Second Stage
June 22nd @ 18.00 Winner B / Runner-Up A in Viborg
June 22nd @ 21:00 Winner A / Runner-Up B in Herning
3rd Place Play-Off
June 25th @ 15:00 in Aalborg
Final
June 25th @ 20:45 in Aarhus
Tags: Busquets, Martinez, Mata, Spain, U-21, Under 21
