I’m going w/ a 4-2-3-1 formation because that’s the most popular
formation in the world right now.
GK- Stephan Anderson (Denmark) Faced a Euro record 32 shots
against Holland in the opening match without letting in a goal and commanded
crosses into his box better than any other goalie so far in this tourney.
RB- Theodor Selassie (Czech) Strong in defense, potent in
attack with a nice cross to boot, Selassie has been a revelation and will need
to be even better when he goes up against Ronaldo tomorrow.
CB- Pepe (Portugal) As much as I love to hate him, there is
no denying his talent and passion for the game. Both in defence and in attack,
he has been completely dominant in the air and unlike his defensive partner,
Bruno Alves, his long range passing to his superstar wingers has been brilliant
as well.
CB- De Rossi (Italy) Play him out of his position and it don’t
matter. His excellent performance against Spain deserves special mention as he
looked a Euro 2004 Nesta, Maldini, and Cannavaro combo all rolled into one.
LB- Chiellini (Italy) He has carried his brilliant club form
to the national team and has been a rock with De Rossi in the back in their
ever changing 3 back formation. Like De Rossi, he will be a HUGE miss in their
epic quarterfinal encounter w/ England.
CDM- Modric (Croatia) For all the talk of nibbling pains and
exhaustion leading up to Euro, Modric regained his form of last year as one of
the best midfielders in the world. He was the best player on the pitch against
Ireland, the 2nd best (to the man coming next) against Italy, and
easily the best against the World/Euro Defending Champs. How he was able to “outSpain”
Spain so effortlessly will only lead to more rumors about which of the top
teams will swoop him up this summer and for how much.
CDM- Pirlo (Italy) The best player of the group stages,
Pirlo is like a bottle of fine wine- as he gets older, he only seems to get
better. The way he dictates a match seemingly in super slow motion is a beauty
to see and, combined with his picture perfect set pieces, incredibly difficult to
defend against.
CAM- Ozil (Germany) The best player on the best team and
that is pretty much all that needs to be said. His movement is second to none
and his intelligence on/off the ball makes the game so much easier for his
teammates.
RW- Nani (Portugal) Even with his horrible miss against
Holland, Nani has been an overall better player than his more famous Portugese
winger counterpart. His touch, vision, passing, dribbling, and speed make him
extremely dangerous every time the ball comes near him. For having such a disappointing
season for United this year, Nani has surprised me in how much better he has
looked against extremely tough competition.
LW- Iniesta (Spain) As with England, don’t be fooled by
Spain winning their group. For a team filled with such ridiculous talent,
Iniesta (and maybe Silva) has been the only one who has showed up. While the
rest of the squad seems to play solely horizontally, he has offered the only
constant vertical threat and seems able to juke out the entire opposing defense
without breaking a sweat.
CF- Gomez (Germany) He has done what a center forward in a
one striker formation needs to do- hold the ball up and score goals when
presented with the opportunity. With his midfield being so dominant, Gomez hasn’t
had to do much, but he has done enough to hold off Klose and remain the focal
point of Germany’s vaunted attack. I would be extremely surprised if he does
not end the Euros with the golden boot.
Subs
GK- Casillas (Spain)
RB- Boateng (Germany)
CB- Hummels (Germany)
CB- Lescott (England)
LB- Coentrao (Portugal)
CDM- Schweinsteiger (Germany)
CDM- Karagounis (Greece)
CAM- Gerrard (England)
RW- Alan Dzagoev (Russia)
LW- Ronaldo (Portugal)
CF- Mario Mandzukic (Croatia)
Note- The CDM position has easily been the most superior
position so far so even though Schweinsteiger has been the 3rd best
player in the entire Euro’s, he couldn’t make it onto the starting 11. Khedira
(Germany) is the best player who didn’t make it onto the bench, and I put
Gerrard out of position because he deserves to at least be a sub.
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