Courtesy: www.uefa.com

Farewell to Javi Sánchez
Wednesday, 17 December 2003

Spain's Futsal community will tonight pay tribute to Javi Sánchez, one of the world's most respected players, when the national team take on Slovenia in a crucial match.

Proud homecoming
Sánchez's home town of Cáceres is the setting for the FIFA Futsal World Championship play-off second leg and the organisers will honour his achievements over a long and distinguished career. The occasion is also about looking forward with Spain holding a 4-1 first-leg lead and looking to secure the aggregate victory that will take them through to the 2004 finals in Chinese Taipei.

Illustrious career
At 32, after a long and successful career on both domestic and international fronts, Sánchez decided the time was right to quit playing when the previous season ended in June. He retires as one of the most decorated players in the country with a strong reputation but will stay in the game with a backseat role at his former club, Playas de Castellón F.S.

'Very emotional'
Speaking to uefa.com, he said: "In one way, it's going to be a very emotional night for me, my family and friends but there is also an important game taking place and so I'll be keeping fingers crossed that Spain qualify fofr the finals. That would be a nice way to end the evening."

Nine-year stint
Starting out at AD Extremadura FS in 1991, Sánchez spent two years there before moving on to Pinturas Lepanto Zaragoza. Then, after just one season in Aragon, the midfield ace was snapped up by Castellón and commenced a glorious nine-year run where he collected two league titles and two consecutive successes in the UEFA Futsal Cup.

Century of caps
Sánchez's achievements on the international circuit with Spain were even more impressive. The player was capped on 100 occasions and led his country to the 2001 UEFA European Futsal Championship - scoring the golden goal in the 2-1 final victory against Ukraine, having picked up a Futsal World Championship gold medal with a 4-3 win against Brazil in 2000. He said: "Without any doubt that was the turning point. Beating Brazil in a world final marked my future both professionally and personally. It was the best feeling to be world champions."

New start
Sánchez, who has undertaken a new role as sports manager at Castellón, was recently presented with the Royal Order for Sporting Achievements. He concluded: "As one thing ends, something else starts and I am very happy to concentrate on the challenges that lie ahead. Retiring was a tough decision but it was something that I had to confront sooner or later and I feel that I made my choice at the right time."