Euro 2012: The Others

The EURO Championships are now a thing of the past and with it came the usual post-tournament analysis and awards. Andres Iniesta rightfully claiming the Player of the Tournament award.
UEFA played it safe in terms of selecting a team though, this time going for a 23man squad.

We all know the players who were 'reasonably' obvious choices for a possible team of the tournament. The likes of Sergio Ramos and so forth.

Well, i thought I'd name an 'other' team of the tournament, consisting of players who i thought deserved a mention for their showings.

Goalkeeper
Many would name either Casillas or Buffon and rightly so, I'm going to go with the Croatian Stipe Pletikosa. Heroic effort against Italy and then did well to keep the Spanish at bay, until Jesus Navas finally broke the deadlock. Przemyslaw Tyton is also worthy of a mention. Thrown in the deep end when Szczesny saw red. Saved the spot kick and never looked back. Brave showing!

Defense

Right Back: Theodor Gebre-Selassie
The Czech Republic defender, of Ethiopian descent, really impressed me with his work rate and all round fullback display. I'm sure his new employers Werder Bremen were happy with what they saw.

Centre Backs: Mats Hummels and Bruno Alves
Hummels continued his top form in the Bundesliga, by giving some inspired performances for Die Mannschaft. Bruno Alves was immense in defense for Portugal. His countryman Pepe received most of the praise, but this guy put it all on the line and let very little past him.
Special mention to Simon Kjaer. His partnership with Daniel Agger was quite impressive and with both players still in their 20's, should be the defensive pairing for Brasil 2014, were Denmark to qualify.

Left Back: Fabio Coentrao
Thought he did really well for Portugal. Known for his pace and overlapping runs, he was also quite solid in defense for them too, which is an area of his game he has worked hard on. Philip Lahm also gets a mention here. Reliable as always.

Midfield

Right Wing: Luis Nani
Really impressive tournament for Portugal weighing in with 2assists from the 5games played. His captain and countryman would more than likely crack the nod in most people's 'official' team, Nani however was never out of his depth, worked hard for the team and can feel happy with his showings.

Central Midfielders: Bastian Schweinsteiger and Steven Gerrard
Mesut Ozil will grab the headlines, even Sami Khedira...both rightfully so, but Schweini was again really good in midfield for me. Now a seasoned pro in the holding role, he contributed with two assists in the tournament as well. Gerrard's inclusion may come with a lot of questioning as England again were rather dire. For me he was the only player in that squad worthy of a mention. Captain's 'innings' from him, which included three assists.

Attacking Midfielder: Andriy Yarmolenko
The winger, support-striker was rather impressive for the hosts. His first major tournament, the 22yr old did not look overawed by the occasion, chipped in with one assist and will return to Dynamo Kyiv pleased with his contributions for the national side.

Left Wing: Michael Krohn-Dehli
The second Dane to grab a mention. Why not? They secured 4points in a group where many thought they wouldn't get much. He was another key performer. 2goals + 1assist. Quite impressive.

Forward

Striker: Mario Mandzukic
3goals in 3games for Croatia. Looked dangerous up top and scored what could have proven to be a vital equaliser against the Italians. Having just signed a deal with Bavaria Munchen, he's certainly one to watch in next seasons' Bundesliga.




There you go. Those are my choices.

How about we get your 'real' Euro XI's and also your ones deserving of a mention, and we'll compare notes.

Thanks