Tiko gets Spanish call

ATHLETIC BILBAO midfield ace Tiko has been rewarded for some stellar performances this season with a call-up to Jose Antonio Camacho's Spanish squad for the friendly with Holland next week.

The 25-year-old, dubbed 'FantasTiko' in Spain, is a free-kick specialist and has bagged 11 goals in the current campaign - with all of them coming from outside of the penalty area - and is largely responsible for Bilbao pushing for a Uefa Cup spot.

Camacho has sprung few real surprises in his 20-man squad, in which all players are based in Spain, with Real Madrid duo Raul and Fernando Hierro returning after injury. 

Spanish squad as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Santiago Canizares (Valencia);

Defence: Miguel Angel Nadal (Real Mallorca), Curro Torres (Valencia), Juanfran (Celta), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Fernando Hierro (Real Madrid), Cesar (Deportivo);

Midfield: Capi (Betis), Sergio Gonzalez (Deportivo La Coruna), Ivan Helguera (Real Madrid), Juan Carlos Valeron (Deportivo), Ruben Baraja (Valencia), Vicente Rodriguez (Valencia), Francisco Javier De Pedro (Real Sociedad), Tiko (Athletic Bilbao);

Forward: Joaquin Sanchez (Betis), Fernando Morientes (Real Madrid), Raul (Real Madrid), Diego Tristan (Deportivo).