Best footballers from the recently concluded Euro 2008

One thing that is striking about Euro 2008 is that quite a few names got a lot of attention. Take for example the likes of Russia’s Arshavin and Spain’s David Villa.

The Spanish team was outstanding and deserving of the trophy. The Germans were not tuned in and played disjointedly right throughout the tournament, and the fact they could not break the Spanish defence was mainly due to their own inept play.

To get back to the serious business of choosing outstanding performers from the Euro 2008 it is necessary to forget who won and who lost. Some players played brilliantly individually but their team could not match their brilliance. The Holland goalie Edwin van der Sar was a case in point. Though you could argue that Spain’s Igor Casillas was more spectacular, van der Sar suffered because the back four let the opposition in more than the Spanish defence did.

Turkey was a revelation and though they could not do what Greece had done two years earlier they were a team that played like men possessed. Hamit Altintop was typical of the Turkish never-say-die attitude, and his athleticism really set him apart from his teammates.

Russia could also not do what Greece had done, though it was not from lack of trying. They played well and with guys such as Yuri Zhirkov around their defence were strong, and he also lent his shoulder when his team was attacking.

Croatia folded up against Turkey, summing up a pretty dismal Euro 2008 for them. However, a silver lining to their cloud was Josip Simunic, who was excellent during the first half.

Another Croat that caught the eye at Euro 2008 was Luka Modric who, though he missed a penalty, had a knack of distributing the ball.

Spain did the business and quite deservingly lifted the trophy at the expense of the hapless Germans. Carlos Puyol deserves a lot of praise and with guys like him and Casillas, Torres, Fabregas, Villa and of course Marcos Senna around it is hardly surprising that they emerged the eventual winners.

Germany had a team with a lot of potential and perhaps the biggest stars in the entire competition, but it did not add up to much when the chips were down. Nevertheless, Michael Ballack was their most inspirational player and when he was playing his best Germany always had a real chance in the match.

Among other names that deserve to be mentioned are Igor Casillas, who, although not called upon to do too much, was excellent for his country. Turkish Servet Cetin ,who, although injured for the most part, played excellently. Semith Senturk – a real finisher of great class. And, of course there were Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko from Russia that shone quite brightly throughout every game that they played