Advertisement
Said and done

Euro 2012: The good, the bad and the frustratingly inconsistent

Miguel Delaney lists the the stand-out performers as well as the biggest flops at this summer’s finals.

Not content with naming his best XI in Poland and Ukraine, Miguel Delaney has come up with several other interesting line-ups now that the football is done and dusted for another four years.

Team of the tournament: 1. Iker Casillas (Spain), 2. Joao Pereira (Portugal), 3. Jordi Alba (Spain), 4. Sergio Ramos (Spain), 5. Pepe (Portugal), 6. Xabi Alonso (Spain), 7. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), 8., Andrea Pirlo (Italy), 9. Mario Balotelli (Italy), 10. Andres Iniesta (Spain), 11. Mesut Ozil (Germany).

Balotelli after scoring his second in the semi-final. Credit: Vadim Ghirda/AP/Press Association Images

Next best XI: 1. Gigi Buffon (Italy), 2. Glen Johnson (England), 3. Giorgio Chiellini (Italy), 4. Bruno Alves (Portugal), 5. Gerard Pique (Spain), 6. Sami Khedira (Germany), 7. Jesus Navas (Spain), 8. Joao Moutinho (Portugal), 9. Antonio Cassano (Italy), 10. Riccardo Montolivo (Italy), 11. Giorgios Karagounis (Greece).

Joao Moutinho was one of Portugal's top performers. Credit: Jon Super/AP/Press Association Images

Breakthrough XI: 1. Rui Patricio (Portugal), 2. Theodor Gebre Selassie (Czech Republic), 3. Jordi Alba (Spain), 4. Michal Kadlec (Czech Republic), 5. Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Greece), 6. Joao Moutinho (Portugal), 7. Marco Reus (Germany), 8. Sotiris Ninis (Greece), 9. Alan Dzagoev (Russia), 10. Vaclav Pilar (Czech Republic), 11. Ivan Perisic (Croatia).

Dzagoev scored three times for Russia at the finals. Credit: Tony Marshall/EMPICS Sport

XI who deserved better: 1. Przemyslaw Tyton (Poland), 2. Darijo Srna (Croatia), 3. Philipp Lahm (Germany), 4. Alexander Anyukov (Russia), 5. Yaroslav Rakitskiy (Ukraine), 6. Luka Modric (Croatia), 7. Jakub Blaszczykowski (Poland), 8. Steven Gerrard (England), 9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), 10. Alan Dzagoev (Russia), 11. Michael Krohn-Delhi (Denmark).

Zlatan's volley v France. Credit: Sergei Grits/AP/Press Association Images

Most disappointing XI: 1. Shay Given (Ireland), 2. John O’Shea (Ireland), 3. Patrice Evra (France), 4. Holger Badstuber (Germany), 5. Philippe Mexes (France), 6. Bastien Schweinsteiger (Germany), 7. Frank Ribery (France), 8. Robbie Keane (Ireland), 9. Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Russia), 10. Robin van Persie (Netherlands), 11. Arjen Robben (Netherlands).

A lot more was expected of Van Persie. Credit: EMPICS Sport/EMPICS Sport

Inconsistent XI... some games good, some games not so good

1. Petr Cech (Czech Republic), 2. Lukasz Piszczek (Poland), 3. Philipp Lahm (Germany), 4. Mats Hummels (Germany), 5. Olof Mellberg (Sweden), 6. Sergio Busquets (Spain), 7. Robert Lewandowski (Poland), 8. Raul Meireles (Portugal), 9. Fernando Torres (Spain), 10. Mario Gomez (Germany), 11. Petr Jiracek (Czech Republic).

German defender Mats Hummels. Credit: Ivan Sekretarev/AP/Press Association Images

Euro 2012: the 16 iconic moments that defined an unforgettable tournament

Best on the verge of Blackburn switch – reports

Your Voice
Readers Comments
3
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.