Timothée Kolodziejczak was in the mood to savour a long-delayed revenge as France finally got the better of Spain, singling out a change of approach at the halfway stage as a vital factor in Caen.
Oriol Romeu admitted Spain had paid the price for a sloppy second-half display as a 1-0 lead disappeared against France, saying: "You cannot afford to make as many mistakes as we did."
A jubilant Francis Smerecki said his players showing "a lot of heart in the second half" was the reason why the hosts defeated Spain 2-1 having been behind in the final at the break.
After catching the eye for Germany at the FIFA World Cup, midfielder Sami Khedira has earned a move from VfB Stuttgart to Real Madrid CF and a five-year deal with José Mourinho's side.
Jean-Alain Boumsong has joined former Olympique Lyonnais team-mate Sidney Govou at Panathinaikos FC after moving to Greece from the French club for a fee rising to €750,000.
FC Spartak Moskva have recruited RCD Espanyol central defender Nicolás Pareja to the cause as the Russian side prepare for their campaign in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Former UEFA club competition winners AFC Ajax, Celtic FC and FC Zenit St. Petersburg have work to do in the second leg of their third qualifying round ties if they are to reach the play-offs.
UEFA's Appeals Body has dismissed the appeal lodged by RCD Mallorca and upheld the Control and Disciplinary Body decision not to admit the Spanish club to the 2010/11 UEFA competitions.
Juventus and Liverpool FC are well placed to reach the play-offs but a number of lesser lights will also hope to get there after impressive first-leg results left some upsets on the cards.
Daniel Pacheco leaves the final tournament with a runners-up medal and the consolation of the top scorers' trophy having outstripped his rivals with four goals.
The race for the 2010/11 UEFA Regions' Cup begins in earnest in Little Poland with Małopolska – hosts of the 2005 tournament – staging the first qualifiers in intermediary round Group 7.
AFC Ajax have landed forward Mounir El Hamdaoui from AZ Alkmaar for an undisclosed fee, with coach Martin Jol insisting the 26-year-old is the ideal replacement for Marko Pantelić.
Trailblazers for their country on the European scene before, FK Qarabağ are doing Azerbaijan proud once again after a superb win at Wisła Kraków put them within touch of the play-offs.
Organisers of the UEFA-backed European Football Supporters Award, which promotes respect between fans and in stadiums, are appealing for nominations for the 2010 prize.
Rachel Yankey said it is "an honour" to have reached a century of caps following a 3-0 win against Turkey which ensured England became the second country after Italy to reach the play-offs.
Roy Hodgson was full of praise for his players after an under-strength Liverpool FC side defeated FK Rabotnicki 2-0 in his first match at the helm to put the Reds in charge of the tie.
Mark Hughes is looking forward to "the challenges of expectation and ambition" at Fulham FC after being named the new manager of last season's UEFA Europa League runners-up.
Luigi Delneri hailed Juventus for showing "intensity and pace" during their third qualifying round first-leg win against Shamrock Rovers FC, the coach's first competitive game in charge.
VfB Stuttgart may have kicked off their campaign with a 3-2 win at Molde FK but coach Christian Gross feels his side have more to give, saying: "We will push harder in the second leg."
Liverpool FC and Juventus made winning starts, CS Marítimo hit a club record eight goals past Bangor City FC, but Turkish challengers Galatasaray AŞ and Beşiktaş JK could only draw.
Captain Aleksei Medvedev scored FC Sibir Novosibirsk's first goal in European club competition and it was enough to earn victory for the Russian side against Apollon Limassol FC.
New seasons are ready to go in Bulgaria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while the question in Belgium is how to stop RSC Anderlecht.
France's Francis Smerecki and Luis Milla of Spain will be in opposing dugouts at the UEFA European U19 Championship final yet they share the expectation of a "beautiful" game in Caen.
France captain Gueïda Fofana is determined that this summer's Under-19 tournament will have a happier ending than the U17 version two years ago when Spain's Keko won the day.
