On March 24, 1999, Iñaki Sáez, Spanish U-20 coach, made public the list of the 18 players called up for the World Cup. There were barely ten days left until the opening of the tournament in a country of strong contrasts like Nigeria and there were only a couple of names that were heard, such as Xavi Hernández, Gabri or Iker Casillas. It didn't have much of an impact. The media focus was on the list of José Antonio Camacho's senior team for the matches against Austria and San Marino to qualify for Euro 2000 and also on the odyssey of the Yugoslav internationals to escape the NATO bombings due to the war in Kosovo. Today, 25 years later, that generation remains the only Spanish youth world champion.
“We were not favorites. But we started well, winning 2-0 against Ronaldinho's Brazil in the first game of the group stage. And that got us into the pools,” explains Pablo Orbaiz, captain of that team. “For me it was the most special game of all. I was excited to score the first goal of our World Cup,” recalls Gabri. “We knew Brazil well. In January we had faced them in a tournament in Uruguay and they had beaten us 3-0. We took note of that,” says Couñago, Golden Boot winner of that World Cup with five goals. The chronicles of the time say that Spain, placed in group F and which played its first matches in Calabar and Port Harcourt, almost on the border with Cameroon, knew how to nullify Brazil with orderly football. It was also the first time that Brazil was defeated in an official match in any category.
On the other hand, the next group stage match against Zambia was, emotionally, the most difficult. Marcelina Ruiz, Iñaki Sáez's mother, died. Even so, the coach decided to remain in Nigeria. “At first they didn't want to explain to us what was happening. When we found out, we wanted to show him that we were there to help him,” Couñago recalls. The match against Zambia, played with a black armband, was played on April 8, 1999 at the Calabar stadium. The press dubbed it “the oven” since 44 degrees were reached. The match ended with a goalless tie. “The coach was an example. The entire team has a lot to thank him for,” recalls David Aganzo, the last to arrive on the expedition. “Gerard López was injured and I replaced him. “I didn't know anyone except Iker Casillas, who was my age and with whom I shared a room,” he adds.
After the draw against Zambia, came the victory against Honduras (3-1) and Spain qualified as first in the group. In the round of 16 they beat the United States (3-2). After two weeks in hotels in Calabar and Port Harcourt, Spain headed to Kaduna, in the heart of Nigeria. They found the poorest face of the country. “A huge lizard got into the room I shared with Iker. The shock was tremendous,” Aganzo recalls. “We slept two in a bed. And we showered with bottles of water because what we had was not healthy. We were very hungry in general and at some point we considered leaving,” recalls Gabri, who shared a room with Xavi. “We all lost between 4 and 5 kilos, the conditions were dire,” recalls the current Barcelona coach. “Thank goodness our doctor, Jordi Guillén, brought a trunk of canned ham,” Orbaiz slips.
A change of hotel and the words of the coach prevented the departure of Spain, which faced Ghana in the quarterfinals. It was then when Sáez gave the alternative to Iker Casillas, second goalkeeper. “We tied 1-1 and went to the penalty shootout. Iker saved the last one and certified Spain's passage to the semifinals. He was not seen on TV because the signal was cut,” Aganzo recalls. “Communications were difficult. You called from hotels and it was very expensive. The families knew that we were doing well because of the press,” recalls Orbaiz. Without moving from Kaduna, on April 21 Spain received Mali in the semifinals. They qualified for the final against Japan thanks to a double from Varela and another goal from Xavi. “No one thought we would get this far,” says the man from Egara.
The final was played on April 24, 1999 at the Surelere Stadium in Lagos. Spain was crowned after winning 0-4. “We started jumping. We went around the field and took a lot of photos,” Aganzo remembers. “Not all of them because they put me and Marchena in a room for 45 minutes for anti-doping control,” recalls Couñago, who scored two of the four Spanish goals. “Then we celebrated at the hotel pool. And in Spain we receive several tributes,” recalls Aganzo. “It doesn't seem like that much time has passed. “I get a smile remembering it,” says Orbaiz. For Gabri, “it was the explosion of Spanish football.” And for Xavi, “he served to hit the table. That World Cup, after the arrival of the Bosman law that allowed foreign players to be hired, vindicated the talent of the youth teams. “It was the beginning of the golden age of Spanish football.”
