Euro 2008: Team of the Tournment

“TouchlinePundits” team of the tournament is not just of the best 11 performers for those each position, but factors included were, ability, influence on the tournment, and character. So here it is;

GOALKEEPER

Gianluigi Buffon: Performed brilliantly, despite his teams efforts to be the most negative idiots on the planet. Buffon made some class saves and his celebration after saving Mutu’s penalty was priceless. A deserved member of this team.

DEFENDERS

Carlos Puyol: This was a close one between him and Marchena, both played brilliantly but Puyol won it on inspiration, always an important figure to have in the team.

Pepe: Shocked me with his performance, both defensively and going forward, he was considered overrated by many before the tournament but really proved his worth this time.

FULLBACKS

Yuri Zhirkov: A revelation, this player was brilliant going forward, defensively not so strong but if he was in a team with strong defenders he could be one of the best fullbacks in the world (OK that’s pushing it) but a great performance and a good reason to why Russia did so well.

Phillip Lahm: Another brilliant performance from him, was one of the lively players in fairly textbook German team, scorer of a great goal to win it against the Turks.

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

Xavi: One of the best players of the tournament, him and Senna were the driving force of the Spanish midfield, both defensive and attacking was spot on.

Michael Ballack: An inspirational figure for Germany, every player in Germany clearly looked up to him, was the best captain, scored the best goal, and lead the team to the final.

WINGERS

Bastian Shweinsteiger: I guess this is a shock choice, but being left on the bench for the first game after lack of faith from his manager, he really proved his worth and put flair in the German’s game, being sent off against the Croats was a let down, but his performance against Turkey got him into this team.

Wesley Sneijder: Such an obvious choice, scorer of the best two goals of the tournament, played the best his best football against the two world cup finalists. Again a player who was slightly over rated before the tournment.

FORWARDS

Andrei Arshavin: Zidane said he was amazed at how good he was, that’s good enough for me, to be honest I never saw Russia play a full game, but if Zidane and Wenger praise him, he’s in the team. Well done son!

David Villa: This player has real star quality, both him and Torres have very similar mentality’s in football, the are the best most wanted strikers in the world, and sodding Liverpool has one of them. Villa played fantastically, constant flair, class, and maturity.

THE MANAGER: Guss Hiddink: This tournament had great managers, Van Bastan, Donadoni, Scolari etc.. but Hiddink stands out amongst all, to get Korea to the semi’s is enough to win a Golden Football, but to get the Russian’s playing like Arsenal is absolute genius. Unfortunately the fitness levels collapsed and Spain deservedly won the game.

That’s it from me, you may not agree but please let me know of any suggestions. Look out for more analysis.

Euro 2008 Review

This was a tournament filled with great games (excluding Romania Vs France) and good goals. Congratulations to Spain for a magnificent performance throughout the competition and a fully deserved victory. The tremendous amount of good, pure football on display kept everyone entertained and in the end, the right team were crowned champions.

The tournament saw great team and individual performances alongside the odd boring and poor performance. We also saw some surprises in the competition from both teams and players who many big clubs will try and get there hands on.

The Stars

Cesc Fabregas (Spain) - It’s hard to believe that this guy is only 21and is performing so well on a high stage. The young genius conducted the Spanish side (when he was on) and proved his worth to both Arsenal and his country.

Michael Ballack (Germany) – Simply ran the German side by using his momentum in the latter parts of last season. He scored one of (if not the) best goals of the tournament and Germany wouldn’t of got as far as they did without him. As for his ‘calf strain’, did you really think he was going to miss the final?

David Villa (Spain) – The top goal scorer in the tournament and one the players of the tournament. His masterclass inspired the team with goals, assists and general play. I hope he does sign to the Premiership as it would be nice to see him every week. Lets just hope he goes to a decent club.

Wesley Snejider (Holland) – Considered as the heartbeat of the Dutch side who probably should have gone all the way. He scored two of the goals of the tournament (against Italy and France) and if he didn’t play for Real Madrid, the ‘Big Four’ would all be in the hunt for his signature.

The Surprises

Gio Van Bronkhorst (Holland) – Was unexpected to play as well as he did and was a major part in the best team goal of the tournament. He’s always been a solid left back and is pretty good in midfield too. However, this could be his last tournament as he is 33.

Russia – Guus Hiddink took the country to the semis and his second in six years. He truly showed what a great manager he is and could be on the way to club management. He lead the team to beat Holland (his native country) in the quarter-final but couldn’t get past champions Spain.

Turkey - They are indeed the ‘Comeback Kings’ and fully deserve the title. Fatih Terim is simply a tactical mastermind and took his country to the semis by playing the matches of the tournament. They were eventually knocked out by the favourites prior to the tournament, Germany.

Colin Kazim Richards – Kazim Kazim (Turkey) - Showed that he belongs with great names and could of caught the eye of many Premiership managers. He made a nuisance of himself in many games providing serious goal threat for Turkey.

The Flops

Luca Toni (Italy) - How many chances does this guy need? I would consider him to be worse in this tournament than Frank Lampard in Germany 2006. There’s no doubt that he is a great player as he did lift the Italian side. But this guy was there to score goals something he didn’t do.

Mario Gomez (Germany) - Like Toni, he came into the tournament full of hope and expectation after scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances for his club VfB Stuttgart. However, from what we’ve seen, it’s difficult to see why many premier league clubs want to sign him. But if he does join the league, we’ll see how he gets on. The only saving grace for him at the moment is if he does not join Tottenham.