Euro 2000 - Manager: José Antonio Camacho

Uncompromising character who has had his ups and downs, both on and off the pitch. Played most of his career at Real Madrid, where he was club captain and a no nonsense defender who was loved by his own fans and hated by the rest. One of the most capped players for Spain with over 50 appearances for his country. As a manager he was successful at Rayo Vallecano, who he took up to the first division, and at Espanyol, where he got them back into Europe. The Barcelona based club wanted him to stay on, but his ambitions were beyond that and he finally accepted an offer from Sevilla. However he joined the club when they were on the slide, and he left after a few weeks with the club en route to relegation. Real Madrid made no secret of the fact that they wanted him back at the club as manager, and he was offered and accepted the job for the 1998/9 season. However he fell out with the club president before the season began, and walked out in a blaze of publicity arguing that he could not have his hands tied. When Clemente was fired, he took over as national team manager, producing the best string of results the team has had in recent years. He has however had his clashes with the Federation, and threatened to resign if postponed league matches coincided with international matches after criticism of his team selection. Recently named the 'Gran Pez' (big fish) in the annual sardine burying ceremony near his local town of Cieza in Murcia (this is not a joke), Camacho could well be one of the big fishes of the Euro 2000 competition.