My Euro2008 Team
Monday, June 30th, 2008 by Stuart Stratford
With the doors to Euro2008 now closed and Spain rightfully crowned champions, below is my team of the tournament. This is not linked to the UEFA technical committee who opted out and provided a twenty-three man squad rather than eleven whose performances in positions merited special recognition.
Goalkeeper: Casillas [Spain]
There was little consistency shown between the posts by the custodians but amid the average performances, Casillas stood out. Unflappable when dealing with crosses, he protected Spanish single goal leads when required, with a minimum of fuss and maximum efficiency
Right Back: Ramos [Spain]
Solid in defence, supportive in attack, unlucky not to score in the Final which would have been reward for his performances
Centre Back: Pepe [Portugal]
Commanding in the centre, holding together a defence that was unconvincing in their time in the competition. Provided some justification of the fee paid by Real Madrid for his services.
Centre Back: Marchena [Spain]
Sensible, no-nonsense defending. Read the game well and snuffed out a lot of the danger in the final third. Lead by example when Puyol left the field in the Sweden match.
Left Back: Zhirkov [Russia]
The most dynamic left back in the tournament, defended well but absolutely lethal when going forward. Symbolised everything good about Guus Hiddink’s tactics and the squad’s play.
Right Midfield: Modric [Croatia]
Inventive, creative and the fulcrum of the criminally underachieving Croats. Quick of thought and fleet of foot, Tottenham may have paid excessively for him but the Premier League will be enhanced by his presence next season
Centre Midfield: Senna [Spain]
Calm and authoratitive, allowing the creative players around him to shine
Centre Midfield: Xavi [Spain]
Player of the tournament. Quality passing and scored as well.
Left Midfield: Podolski [Germany]
Creative second highest scorer in the tournament behind Villa, provided as well and worked diligently on the flanks.
Attacking Midfield: Sneijder [Holland]
Eye catching range of passing that and able to get forward to score. Covered a considerable amount of ground in support of defence and attack.
Centre Forward: Villa [Spain]
Top scorer and total menace for the defences. Benefitted from having Torres work like a Trojan alongside him but was a class above most of the rest of the forwards in the tournament in front of goal.
Tags: Euro2008, Football, Soccer
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