Santi Denia facts for kids

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Santi

Santi as Spain U19 manager
Personal information
Full name	Santiago Denia Sánchez
Date of birth	(1974-03-09) 9 March 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Albacete, Spain
Height	1.82 m
Playing position	Centre-back
Club information
Current club	Spain U21 (manager)
Youth career
	Albacete
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1995	Albacete	98	(2)
1995–2005	Atlético Madrid	225	(7)
2005	→ Albacete (loan)	12	(0)
2005–2007	Albacete	26	(1)
Total		361	(10)
National team
1991	Spain U18	1	(0)
1992–1996	Spain U21	27	(0)
1996	Spain U23	3	(1)
1997–1998	Spain	2	(0)
Teams managed
2009	Atlético Madrid (assistant)
2009	Atlético Madrid (caretaker)
2010–2018	Spain U17
2018–2022	Spain U19
2022–	Spain U21
2024	Spain Olympic
Honours Men's football Representing  Spain (as manager) Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Team FIFA U-17 World Cup Runner-up 2017 India Team UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 2023 Georgia–Romania Team UEFA European Under-19 Championship Winner 2019 Armenia Team UEFA European Under-17 Championship Winner 2017 Croatia Team Runner-up 2016 Azerbaijan Team
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Santiago Denia Sánchez (born 9 March 1974), commonly known as Santi, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender, currently manager of the Spain under-21 national team.

He appeared in 297 La Liga matches over 11 seasons (eight goals scored), with Albacete and Atlético Madrid. He won the 1996 league championship with the latter club.

Club career

Born in Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha, Santi began playing professionally with his hometown side Albacete Balompié. He made his La Liga debut at age 18, and immediately became an undisputed starter as they constantly managed to retain their top-flight status.

Santi signed for Atlético Madrid in the summer of 1995, being crowned league and Copa del Rey champion in his first season as part of a defensive line which also included youth graduates Juan Manuel López and Roberto Solozábal. He appeared in 37 league matches during the campaign.

Following Atlético's 2000 relegation (he collected a career-worst 17 yellow cards), Santi gradually lost his importance in the team's plans. In 2004–05, after the signing of Pablo Ibáñez – who also came from Albacete – he featured in no games at all in the first half of the season, and was subsequently allowed to leave on loan in January 2005 to his first club. The move was made permanent in June and he retired after two more years, with Albacete now in the Segunda División.

Santi eventually returned to Atlético Madrid in early February 2009, as assistant to newly-appointed Abel Resino who had replaced Javier Aguirre. He was a caretaker manager for the fixture against RCD Mallorca on 24 October, before the appointment of Quique Sánchez Flores.

International career

Santi was capped twice for Spain, his debut coming on 11 October 1997 in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Faroe Islands (3–1 in Gijón, playing the entire match). He still featured in a friendly win over Sweden in March 1998, but did not make the cut for the finals in France.

Previously, Santi appeared for the nation at the 1996 Summer Olympics. After retiring, he acted as head coach to Spain under-17s and under-19s, leading the second age group to the UEFA European Championship in 2019.

In December 2022, after Luis de la Fuente was promoted to the full side following Luis Enrique's resignation, Santi was named the former's replacement at the helm of the under-21s.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Atlético Madrid

• La Liga: 1995–96
• Copa del Rey: 1995–96
• Segunda División: 2001–02

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1996

Manager

Spain U17

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2017; runner-up: 2016
• FIFA U-17 World Cup runner-up: 2017

Spain U19

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship: 2019

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2023

Spain U23

• Summer Olympics gold medal: 2024