Euro 2012 Team of the Week
Gianluigi Buffon (ITA)
If there’s one thing that Gianluigi Buffon can always be counted on for, it’s sweeping up in desperate situations; Italy were certainly caught in one of those, when Fernando Torres burst right past the three-man defense. Buffon – unlike Victor Valdes in the Champions League semi-finals – stayed on his feet, swept the ball out of Torres’ feet, and kept the score level.
Mathieu Debuchy (FRA)
Debuchy has been a bright star in the Lille backline and will surely be moving on to a bigger club over the summer transfer window; his performance in a French shirt isn’t anything to dismiss, either – Debuchy is a dependable player and gives the newly-reformed French defense some stability and pace.
Mats Hummels (GER)
It’s not an easy job marking Cristiano Ronaldo, as anyone in La Liga will tell you, but the German centerback gave Ronaldo, and the rest of the Portuguese cast, a headache throughout the match; Hummels is one of those players that never gets a mention in-game but does more than most players on the field.
Joleon Lescott (ENG)
If, for no other reason than scoring against France, Joleon Lescott gets the nod here. England needed a forward to step up and fill in the void of Wayne Rooney and Lescott did just that, from the centerback position!
Fábio Coentrão (POR)
This left back showed the world, and his owners Real Madrid, that he is worth every single penny of the $27 million they paid for him. Coentrão put up an impressive solo display against a German side that doesn’t really let players show off. Definitely one to watch.
Wesley Sneijder (HOL)
Is there a player in this tournament who can create long-range passes with as much accuracy, speed and curve as Wesley Sneijder? Does it hurt that he’s also pretty good at finding short passes a la tiki-taka football? Sneijder, where have you been?
Player of the Week – Alan Dzagoev (RUS)
Our player of the tournament so far, CSKA Moscow’s Alan Dzagoev was relatively unknown heading into the EURO Cup, but burst onto the international stage with two great goals against the Czech Republic. Dzagoev, an attacking midfield akin to Kaka, is the core of the Russian midfield and may just have a few suitors lined up for the summer transfer window.
Andreas Iniesta (ESP)
Not far behind Dzagoev is Andreas Iniesta, who was one of the “forwards” for Spain in their match against Italy; Iniesta skipped past man after man, showing an attacking pedigree that went unmatched in the game.
Dimitris Salpingidis (GRE)
The hero in a classic Greek tragedy, Salpingidis’ goalscoring triumph gave Greece a crucial point against home side, Poland. Salpingidis also earned his side a penalty, which Greece did not convert, but regardless, the Greek forward makes the list on his heroics alone.
Robert Lewandowski (POL)
Poland’s trifecta of Łukasz Piszczek, Jakub Błaszczykowski and Robert Lewandowski (all of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga) came together perfectly to open the scoring in EURO 2012, when the three combined going forward, Lewandowski putting away to goal.
Mario Mandžukić (CRO)
With two goals against the Irish, Mandzukic is being hailed as a hero in Croatia, who played some impressive football to open up their campaign. Mandžukić was also impressive individually, and made sure Croatia benefited from his good form.
Gianluigi Buffon
Mathieu Debuchy---Mats Hummels---Joleon Lescott----Fábio Coentrão
Andres Iniesta
Alan Dzagoev------Wesley Sneijder
Dimitris Salpingidis---------Robert Lewandowski-------- Mario Mandžukić
Honourable Mentions:
Samir Nasri (FRA); Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE); Daniele De Rossi (ITA); Jordi Alba (ESP); Mario Gomez (GER); Georgios Samaras (GRE); Vyacheslav Malafeev (RUS); Joao Moutinho (POR); Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (ENG); Łukasz Piszczek (POL).
Team of the Tournament: Russia
This weeks team of the tournament goes to Russia, who put up a 4-1 win against the Czech Republic, played some impressive, attacking football, and looked strong in every position. Russia leads Group A and will hope for a win against Poland to keep things going.
Match of the Week:
Italy 1-1 Spain
When Italy lined up against Spain, who played a 4-6 formation (four defenders, six midfielders, and no forwards!) there were certainly questions over who would come out on top. When Antonio Di Natale struck for Italy, Spain looked like they might be in for a shock, but Cesc Fabregas quickly put a stopper on that one, with a goal of his own! It all made for an exciting game from start to end, as two giants of European football went head to head.
EURO Cup Funnies:
|