Euro 2012: Best XI, With Four Players From Spain and Three Italians

All, Soccer Ty Duffy July 2nd. 2012, 11:13am

GK: Gigi Buffon [Italy] Hard to pick between Buffon and Casillas. Buffon gets the edge because, by necessity, he played a more pivotal role in Italy’s run to the final.

D: Theodor Gebre Selaisse [Czech Republic] He came out of nowhere and had a massive tournament for a surprising Czech side. Speed. Great runs down the wings. The 25-year-old was so impressive he got locked down by a bigger club before the semifinal.

D: Sergio Ramos [Spain] Ramos had to fill in for Puyol at centerback. He covered a lot of ground, made key interventions and got physical when needed.

D: Mats Hummels [Germany] Germany had problems at the back. Hummels wasn’t one of them. He continued his excellent form from Dortmund and a great tournament.

D: Jordi Alba [Spain] He was the one inexperienced member of the Spanish squad, but it didn’t show. He scored a superb goal in the final and was solid throughout Euro 2012.

M: Cristiano Ronaldo [Portugal] He nearly carried Portugal to the final. He had one of the best performances of Euro 2012 against the Netherlands and scored the match-winner in the quarterfinal. Maybe you make sure he takes a shot in the shootout next time? Just a thought.

M: Andrea Pirlo [Italy] Italy are different team when he is healthy. He consistently dominated the midfield. Iconic moments? How about the pass to Di Natale against Spain, the free kick goal against Croatia or the panenka in the shootout against England.

M: Sami Khedira [Germany] The ultimate box to box midfielder. Has vaulted his game to another level under Mourinho. He’s the reason Germany have not missed Michael Ballack.

M: David Silva [Spain] It’s hard to pick just one Spanish midfielder, but Silva, with two goals and three assists, had the best tournament.

F: Mario Balotelli [Italy] He scored arguably the goal of the tournament against Ireland and had arguably the game of the tournament against Germany. Even when he doesn’t score he drags, pins back and rattles defenders.

F: Cesc Fabregas [Spain] He played a new position. He was shuttled in and out of matches and in and out of the starting XI, but never lost his effectiveness. Two goals and an assist in the final.

Apologies: Iker Casillas (Spain), Joe Hart (England) Federico Balzaretti (Italy) Philipp Lahm (Germany), Fabio Coentrao (Portugal), Pepe (Portugal), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Xavi (Spain), Steven Gerrard (England), Luka Modric (Croatia), Giorgos Karagounis (Greece), Petr Jiracek (Czech Republic), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Zlatan Ibahimovic (Sweden)

[Photo via Getty]

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42 Responses to “Euro 2012: Best XI, With Four Players From Spain and Three Italians”

1
HuskerDawg Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:18 AM
Spain put on a defensive clinic the likes of which I’ve never seen before. They played Italy twice, Portugal and France and conceded one goal along with shutting out Ireland and Croatia. Insane. They middies get all of the pub (deserved, of course) but that back line plus Busquets and Casillas are just too good.
2
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:23 AM
Filling in a Worst XI would be harder.
GK: Shay Given
RB:
CB:
CB:
LB: Ashley Cole
CDM: Scott Parker
RM:
CM:
LM:
FW: Podolski
FW: Rooney
Who else?
3
HuskerDawg Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Who else?
Irish starting 11.
4
MP Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Germany had problems at the back. Hummels wasn’t one of them.
He was atrocious against Italy.
5
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:29 AM
GK: Shay Given
RB: Gregory van der Wiel
CB: Mexes
CB:
LB: Ashley Cole
CDM: Scott Parker
RM: Robben
CM:
LM:
FW: Podolski
FW: Rooney
Forgot about the Dutch
6
Scouser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Mats Hummels
He did give up that header to Balotelli…
7
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:32 AM
He did give up that header to Balotelli…
That was Badstuber. Who was awful.
Lahm was too in many instances.
8
Babar 2.0 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Fernando Torres finally didn’t suck…that should have gotten an honorable mention.
9
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Fernando Torres finally didn’t suck…that should have gotten an honorable mention.
I missed the final but even when he scored two against Ireland he was largely horrible.
Milan Baros is one of the all time leading scorers in the Euros, let’s not read too much into this.
10
Scouser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:37 AM
That was Badstuber. Who was awful.
I could have sworn that Hummels was covering him.
/searching for highlights…
11
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Also no honorable mention for Agger is absurd Duffy. Come on.
12
scripty Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 AM
Messi failed to show up
/Mike & Mike in the morning.
13
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 AM
It wasn’t.
14
Der Kaiser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:39 AM
Like Duffy said yesterday, love how Spain’s display yesterday retroactively made the Croatia and Portugal game exciting in so many mouthbreathers eyes. If only I had a nickel for every “SEE!!! SEEEEEE!!!!! They say Spain is boring. Hah! Boy are they wrong!!!!” tweets I saw yesterday, I’d be a rich man.
15
HuskerDawg Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:41 AM
Like Duffy said yesterday, love how Spain’s display yesterday retroactively made the Croatia and Portugal game exciting in so many mouthbreathers eyes. If only I had a nickel for every “SEE!!! SEEEEEE!!!!! They say Spain is boring. Hah! Boy are they wrong!!!!” tweets I saw yesterday, I’d be a rich man.
You did say they were boring. You were wrong then and you’re wrong now. Germans looked great getting housed by Italy though.
16
Der Kaiser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:41 AM
You did say they were boring. You were wrong then and you’re wrong now. Germans looked great getting housed by Italy though.
Oh, so they weren’t boring against Croatia and Portugal? Got it.
17
sousedbergin Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Filling in a Worst Filling in a Worst XI would be harder.
GK: Shay Given
Irish starting 11.
/Runs away crying
//climbs roof while drinking
///pumps beach house
18
HuskerDawg Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 AM
Oh, so they weren’t boring against Croatia and Portugal? Got it.
No…they were methodical. Playing balls out attacking soccer at every moment isn’t good. Ask Germany. Defending and keeping the ball is a skill only Spain seems to be capable of doing. They can also slice you to death if they so choose.
19
rittyrich Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Isn’t it close enough to college football season and the 4th of July that we can start talking about something sports related that’s a little more relevant to this country.
20
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:47 AM
Isn’t it close enough to college football season and the 4th of July that we can start talking about something sports related that’s a little more relevant to this country.
Stephen has the hot dog content covered, don’t worry.
21
spencer096 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:47 AM
i felt like italy should’ve played dirtier yesterday.
22
Ty Duffy Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:48 AM
No…they were methodical. Playing balls out attacking soccer at every moment isn’t good. Ask Germany. Defending and keeping the ball is a skill only Spain seems to be capable of doing. They can also slice you to death if they so choose.
Yes, they were methodical. Which is great and successful. That doesn’t mean a team slowing the tempo down to a crawl and killing off games is enjoyable to watch.
23
ol' scrappy grinder Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:49 AM
I missed the final but even when he scored two against Ireland he was largely horrible.
Don’t let reality stand in the way of your pre-tournament conclusion.
Filling in a Worst XI would be harder.
John O’Shea had one of the worst defensive performance’s I’ve ever seen against Crotia. He has to be on that list. Also, see Jordan Henderson who might have been the worst player to see time in the knockout stage, Ashley Young cowering like a scared girl as Pirlo carved Eng up and Robben looking like he needed a cup of coffee to wake up.
24
Der Kaiser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:49 AM
No…they were methodical. Playing balls out attacking soccer at every moment isn’t good. Ask Germany. Defending and keeping the ball is a skill only Spain seems to be capable of doing. They can also slice you to death if they so choose.
Ah, the straw man argument. No one is telling them to bomb forward at every chance at the expense of defending. But passing for passing’s sake without showing sufficient initiative to turn possession into attack IS boring. Barcelona keeps the ball and pass it around, too. But I wouldn’t dare call them boring. You know why? Because they turn possession into chances.
I don’t know what you are smoking if you think Spain played “beautifully” against Croatia. But whatever it is, keep smoking.
Germans looked great getting housed by Italy though.
Ouch. That’s me being told off, I guess.
25
spencer096 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:51 AM
I don’t know what you are smoking if you think Spain played “beautifully” against Croatia. But whatever it is, keep smoking.
to be fair, if he was smoking pot, everything probably looked beautiful.
26
spencer096 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:51 AM
also…ot…i saw a praying mantis while golfing yesterday.
/no idea
27
Der Kaiser Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Having said all this, I’d gladly go back to the time when the world knew us for playing “dour, machine-like” football if that meant we could stop choking and actually win a title or two.
28
HuskerDawg Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Isn’t it close enough to college football season and the 4th of July that we can start talking about something sports related that’s a little more relevant to this country.
Come on, dude. This is a soccer thread.
Yes, they were methodical. Which is great and successful. That doesn’t mean a team slowing the tempo down to a crawl and killing off games is enjoyable to watch.
For me (someone who played crazy competitive soccer for years) it’s amazing watching them play 5v2 on the field with so much ease. Hell, half the time it’s 3v2 or 3v1 in tight spaces and they play 1 or 2 touch. It’s so much fun to watch from my perspective.
29
sousedbergin Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:55 AM
@mole and spencer
You guys hear about U R Gay?
30
alamocitybear Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:57 AM
GK: Gigi Buffon [Italy] Hard to pick between Buffon and Casillas. Buffon gets the edge because, by necessity, he played a more pivotal role in Italy’s run to the final.
Surely his mastery of the Italian national anthem had something to do with this vote as well.
31
spencer096 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 11:57 AM
You guys hear about U R Gay?
no shit…good for them. too bad nobody wants to hang out with them since they’ve spent all these years call us gay.
32
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 12:02 PM
Don’t let reality stand in the way of your pre-tournament conclusion.
Two goals against Ireland and still couldn’t get decent time. His touch is nearly completely gone.
Good call on O’Shea and Young, though. Don’t think Henderson mattered enough to justify a place in the Worst XI, though. And wouldn’t have been there anyhow if Carrick wasn’t such a petulant child.
33
BFFredo Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 12:05 PM
GK: Shay Given
RB: Gregory van der Wiel
CB: Mexes
CB: Badstuber
LB: Ashley Cole
CDM: Scott Parker
RM: Robben
CM: van Bommel
LM: Nasri
FW: Podolski
FW: Rooney
Oh and a few individual awards:
Player of the tournament: Fabregas (whether starting or off the bench, he was a factor).
Goat of the tournament: Szczesny (one bad giveaway, one red card and one missed game and he ends Poland’s chances for qualification).
Goal of the tournament: Balotelli’s. (Take your pick).
34
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 12:06 PM
Don’t really think anyone could argue with any of those points. Good work.
35
JDiddy3000 Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 12:49 PM
Where are the Americans on this list!
36
garmy Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 1:38 PM
HOW IS THERE NO MENTION OF THE RATINGS?
37
roger from oz Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 1:49 PM
nice work.
38
MP Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Good call on O’Shea and Young, though. Don’t think Henderson mattered enough to justify a place in the Worst XI, though. And wouldn’t have been there anyhow if Carrick wasn’t such a petulant child.
Solid, unbiased comment.
39
MP Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 2:04 PM
I agree for the most part, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
40
molemaninthemorning Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 2:22 PM
Solid, unbiased comment.
Well it hardly makes sense to put someone in the worst team when they played forty minutes total and didn’t do anything horrendous. I assure you had Scotland somehow made the tournament and Charlie Adam was fit, he’d be on this team.
Not a good tournament for United players though, kind of hard to refute that.
41
MP Says:
July 2nd, 2012 at 4:50 PM
No doubt. Nani was good and Welbeck was mediocre. Rooney and Young were shit.
Although if we’re counting O’Shea as a United player (no one actually said this) then I’m also counting Ronaldo…
42
Cheesus Says:
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:45 AM
LOL at the Mats Hummels pick here. He was shit in the knockout rounds. Pepe has to be one of the CBs in this team. He was immense.