Euro 2008: My All-Star Team
July 7th 2008 18:50
Now that the dust has settled, here are my top players for every positions. I wanted to post this earlier but I was away from home for the past few days.
Right Back: Khalid Boulahrouz (Netherlands)
The Dutch defender patrolled his team's right wing with great aplomb, supporting the attack and neutralize his opponents' offensive rushes.
Center Back: Carles Puyol (Spain)
He was Spain's anchor in defense, stopping everything that managed to beat Sergio Ramos and Marcos Senna. Consequently, he was instrumental in reducing other teams' scoring chances.
Center Back: Giorgio Chiellini (Italy)
His presence alongside Christian Panucci immediately solidified a defense that looked unstable with Materazzi. He had an excellent match against Spain where he intercepted several balls that could've hurt the Italians.
Left Back: Philipp Lahm (Germany)
He was the best player in the German team, period. His efforts were constant and, when he had a bad game (the semi-final against Turkey), he made up for it by using his offensive prowess.
Defensive Midfielder: Marcos Senna (Spain)
The Spanish midfielder was the unsung hero of the tournament. He was the link between the Spanish defense and the midfielders while also being the one who neutralized other teams' attacks from the midfield.
Defensive Midfielder: Orlando Engelaar (Netherlands)
Similarly to Senna, Engelaar did an admirable work against both Italy and France who couldn't create anything in midfield.
Attacking Midfielder: Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
Although he was a substitute for most of his team's matches, his impact was always noticeable as he displayed a superb knack at creating scoring chances for his teammates.
Left Wing: Lukas Podolski (Germany)
Along with Lahm, he was the most consistent player of the German team. He scored three goals in the group stage and provided two assists in the second round.
Right Wing: David Silva (Spain)
Although he mostly played on the left wing, he was the most dangerous on the right as he could cut to the inside and fire a rocket shot with his trusty left foot.
He had more goals than anyone else in the tournament.
Goaltender: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) / Edwin Van Der Sar (Netherlands)
Left Back: Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)
Right Back: Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy)
Center Back: Christian Panucci (Italy) / André Ooijer (Netherlands)
Center Back: Josip Simunic (Croatia)
Defensive Midfielder: Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Defensive/Central Midfielder: Xavi Hernandez (Spain)
Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
Left Wing: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Right Wing: Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands)
Strikers: Fernando Torres (Spain) / Daniel Güiza (Spain) / Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) / Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
Goaltender
Iker Casillas
The veteran goaltender surrendered only three goals in six matches. He was also excellent against Italy, making superb reflex-saves and stopping two penalty-kicks.
Defense
Right Back: Khalid Boulahrouz (Netherlands)
The Dutch defender patrolled his team's right wing with great aplomb, supporting the attack and neutralize his opponents' offensive rushes.
Center Back: Carles Puyol (Spain)
He was Spain's anchor in defense, stopping everything that managed to beat Sergio Ramos and Marcos Senna. Consequently, he was instrumental in reducing other teams' scoring chances.
Center Back: Giorgio Chiellini (Italy)
His presence alongside Christian Panucci immediately solidified a defense that looked unstable with Materazzi. He had an excellent match against Spain where he intercepted several balls that could've hurt the Italians.
He was the best player in the German team, period. His efforts were constant and, when he had a bad game (the semi-final against Turkey), he made up for it by using his offensive prowess.
Midfield
Defensive Midfielder: Marcos Senna (Spain)
The Spanish midfielder was the unsung hero of the tournament. He was the link between the Spanish defense and the midfielders while also being the one who neutralized other teams' attacks from the midfield.
Defensive Midfielder: Orlando Engelaar (Netherlands)
Similarly to Senna, Engelaar did an admirable work against both Italy and France who couldn't create anything in midfield.
Attacking Midfielder: Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
Although he was a substitute for most of his team's matches, his impact was always noticeable as he displayed a superb knack at creating scoring chances for his teammates.
Left Wing: Lukas Podolski (Germany)
Along with Lahm, he was the most consistent player of the German team. He scored three goals in the group stage and provided two assists in the second round.
Right Wing: David Silva (Spain)
Although he mostly played on the left wing, he was the most dangerous on the right as he could cut to the inside and fire a rocket shot with his trusty left foot.
Striker
David Villa
He had more goals than anyone else in the tournament.
Runner-ups
Goaltender: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) / Edwin Van Der Sar (Netherlands)
Left Back: Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)
Right Back: Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy)
Center Back: Christian Panucci (Italy) / André Ooijer (Netherlands)
Center Back: Josip Simunic (Croatia)
Defensive Midfielder: Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Defensive/Central Midfielder: Xavi Hernandez (Spain)
Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
Left Wing: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Right Wing: Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands)
Strikers: Fernando Torres (Spain) / Daniel Güiza (Spain) / Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) / Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
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