My vote goes to "Other" - Jordi Alba. One goal, one assist, played well all around both defensively and offensively - one of the few players on the spanish team that used both speed and technique. Runner-up would be Pirlo, he did really well, but couldn't do much against Spain.
Iniesta surely had a lot of very good scenes, but if I had to choose a player of the tournament, I'd choose someone who made an impact - and however well Iniesta played, his impact was far outshadowed by other players.
Jordi Alba for me, with Iniesta close behind. We've come to expect greatness from Iniesta, but the suprise factor edges it in Alba's favour for me. I knew he was a good player, but didn't know he was this good. Always looking to bomb forward with pace, defensively solid, good end product, and a fantastic engine. Plus, he's only 23.
Pirlo should get it for being highest level up to the final game. He should also be considered for worldwide's best player of 2012 for being a strong leader at Euro 2012 and winning the italian championship without losing a single match.
I always see Casillas popping up everywhere as a candidate to "best player" or "best goalie". To me, he shouldnt be there. Yes, hes an awesome keeper, but the thing is that most people just seem to put him there because teams almost never scores against Spain. To me, that is because the Spanish team keeps the ball among themselves so well so that he doesnt have to. Casillas barely even gets to touch the ball :p Apart from the Portugal shootout, how many awesome saves did Casillas have vs France, vs Portugal or vs Italy? No that many. Buffon was way more important for Italys success and should be the goalie of the tournament imo.
Pirlo or iniesta for me. I didn't really know that much pirlo because i don't pay much attention to serie A, but this tournament has really made me a big fan of his.
as for iniesta, i sort of thought he was a bit overrated and he really didn't have a spectacular season at barca this year with injuries and what not. However, this tournament really showed his class.
I wish xavi would win because he's one of my favorite players of all time, but he only had a good tourney for his standards, not anything extraordinary. But I think his through passe. s and lobs are so much sexier than any goal that is scored
Most likely Pirlo with Iniesta and David Silva not too far behind. I'd say Pirlo more than the others because he did not only play really well but when he was defended far in his own half he created a loot of room for his team especially Montolivo.
On July 02 2012 18:48 Kreb wrote: I always see Casillas popping up everywhere as a candidate to "best player" or "best goalie". To me, he shouldnt be there. Yes, hes an awesome keeper, but the thing is that most people just seem to put him there because teams almost never scores against Spain. To me, that is because the Spanish team keeps the ball among themselves so well so that he doesnt have to. Casillas barely even gets to touch the ball :p Apart from the Portugal shootout, how many awesome saves did Casillas have vs France, vs Portugal or vs Italy? No that many. Buffon was way more important for Italys success and should be the goalie of the tournament imo.
On topic: Pirlo.
Spanish team doesn't allow many chances yet. But teams DO get them, some very good chances too. But Casillas is the reason the 0 always stands at the end.
UEFA announced their All-Star-Team today, check this link.
Iniesta was announced Best Player of the Tournament. Ten of 23 All-Stars are now European Champions (the only Spain starter not included being Arbeloa), with Italy and Germany having four, Portugal three and England (Gerrard) and Sweden (Ibrahimovic) fielding one All Star each.
Gonna have to go with Pirlo, he was definitely the player who carried his respective team the most. Iniesta following shortly thereafter, but Spain had so many good players that none of them feels as important, as someone else could have done the job better than another player for another team could have done in the same situation.
On July 02 2012 20:54 sharkie wrote: Lahm is included, but Hummels not?
This "all star team" just lost all its credibility.
it really does seem like they just randomly picked players from the semi finalists, added zlatan as he scored a good goal, then added gerrard for services to diving
Yay some strange choices in the allstar-team. Hummels is missing, should have been in before Lahm (who nevertheless made his 4th consecutive all-star-team nomination, after a good, but not overwhelming tournament). Other players that I might have chosen are Cassano, Dzagoev, Krohn-Dehli, Gebreselassie, Montolivo. Maybe instead of some spanish players since -finals aside- I've seen most of them play a bit better/entertaining before.
Arbeloa must really feel strange, given he is the only from the 11 spanish players who featured in every game to not make the team of the tournament.
Iniesta is a good choice, even though I would have favored Pirlo simply because I feel he carried Italy more than Iniesta did with Spain.
One thing about all-star-teams is that the players from all but one team tend to end their tournament with their worst game. So one bad play, even if was ultimately fatal, should not be a reason why a player with an otherwise great tournament should not make the team of the tournament imho.
On July 03 2012 06:12 nonsequitur wrote: Definitely Pirlo, basically carried Italy to the finals.
Italy was in the final because of Buffon , not Pirlo . Buffon saved Italy like 5-6 times.., and pirlo scored only once and have few assist.
UEFA already chose.. Iniesta is best player of EURO 2012
Iniesta has only like 1 assist right? With your logic Iniesta is crap, right?
No , you cant read , or cant think.. dunno what..
I write that Buffon carry Italy to finals , not Pirlo. Pirlo was playing superb so what ? , everyone know that Pirlo was superb in Euro 2012 , but now imagine that buffon DIDIN'T save Italy so many times..all these super pirlo assists are not important.. then..yes ?
So all Pirlo fanboys ( i like him to ) can write that Pirlo carry Italy to final... but no one write buffon name.. ? common.. he saved good score for Italy like 6 times..all you see is balloteli goal and pirlo passes...
I'm not amused with the absense of Kyriakos Papadopoulos as well. I'm not tired of saying that he's the best cb in the planet in his age. No Jordi Alba, wat?
On July 03 2012 06:12 nonsequitur wrote: Definitely Pirlo, basically carried Italy to the finals.
Italy was in the final because of Buffon , not Pirlo . Buffon saved Italy like 5-6 times.., and pirlo scored only once and have few assist.
UEFA already chose.. Iniesta is best player of EURO 2012
Iniesta has only like 1 assist right? With your logic Iniesta is crap, right?
No , you cant read , or cant think.. dunno what..
I write that Buffon carry Italy to finals , not Pirlo. Pirlo was playing superb so what ? , everyone know that Pirlo was superb in Euro 2012 , but now imagine that buffon DIDIN'T save Italy so many times..all these super pirlo assists are not important.. then..yes ?
So all Pirlo fanboys ( i like him to ) can write that Pirlo carry Italy to final... but no one write buffon name.. ? common.. he saved good score for Italy like 6 times..all you see is balloteli goal and pirlo passes...
Buffon was decent but not good enough to be on the list. He didn't save any of 4 goals against Spain ffs. I don't claim its his fault, but if you want to put him in the list then he should've saved atleast 2 goals. Keepers need to make a miracle, while attackers just make assist/goals, defenders never in the list. Thats how it is, unfortunately.
It is both Iniesta and Pirlo, but Iniesta on top, cause his team won, both players carried their teams on their back when other didn't step up. In Pirlo's case it was somewhat expected for him to carry his team, but Iniesta did a lot, with Xavi not playing at 100% Iniesta played 110%.
On July 02 2012 21:02 GoSuChicken wrote: pirlo is so overrated... and balotelli in this poll wtf
Well when a 33 year old is the player of his team, winning like 3/4 man of the match awards on the way to the final, I think they deserve all the plaudits they get. He also just came off an undefeated season in Italy, so overrated no. Not even flavour of the moment like Jordi Alba seems to be.
On July 03 2012 06:12 nonsequitur wrote: Definitely Pirlo, basically carried Italy to the finals.
Italy was in the final because of Buffon , not Pirlo . Buffon saved Italy like 5-6 times.., and pirlo scored only once and have few assist.
UEFA already chose.. Iniesta is best player of EURO 2012
Iniesta has only like 1 assist right? With your logic Iniesta is crap, right?
No , you cant read , or cant think.. dunno what..
I write that Buffon carry Italy to finals , not Pirlo. Pirlo was playing superb so what ? , everyone know that Pirlo was superb in Euro 2012 , but now imagine that buffon DIDIN'T save Italy so many times..all these super pirlo assists are not important.. then..yes ?
So all Pirlo fanboys ( i like him to ) can write that Pirlo carry Italy to final... but no one write buffon name.. ? common.. he saved good score for Italy like 6 times..all you see is balloteli goal and pirlo passes...
Pirlo was more important for this Italy.. The whole team played in service of Pirlo just so he could make the play which he did except for the finals. He definetly was Italy's best player and prandelli and the whole team knew it that's what got them so far not the saves of Buffon.
On July 03 2012 10:05 Steveling wrote: I'm not amused with the absense of Kyriakos Papadopoulos as well. I'm not tired of saying that he's the best cb in the planet in his age. No Jordi Alba, wat?
If there's no Hummels because he made one mistake against Italy, there'll be no Greece defenders because they all looked bad against Germany, especially their central defenders. And Papadopoulos/Sokratis have a long way to go to become anything near world class, too - even though both did quite well last Bundesliga season as well as during the EURO group phase. Quite well, but not outstandingly so.
Lahm, Pique, Ramos all shouldn't be on the list. Lahm did next to nothing for Germany except the 1-0 against Greece, caused the 2-0 for Italy and failed as a captain. Pique was shaky throughout the whole tournament, and if the referee had called out Ramos' foul against Croatia, we'd possibly had seen a whole other tournament.
Iniesta for me, without a doubt. Top three would be 1) Iniesta 2) C.Ronaldo and 3) Khedira. I did not find Pirlo that impressive, maybe I missed some of his genius this tournament.
This is between Pirlo and Alonso for me. Iniesta not too far off either, Arbeloa was rock solid and the most offensive defender in the tournament, and I think Khedira was amazing aswell.
For fun checked some other sport sites for same poll (except uefa) and Pirlo won everywhere Again sadly for him it was his last chance to win EURO and he never achieved it
On July 04 2012 10:39 Hazzyboy wrote: For fun checked some other sport sites for same poll (except uefa) and Pirlo won everywhere Again sadly for him it was his last chance to win EURO and he never achieved it
On July 02 2012 17:39 SoulTakerz wrote: Iniesta or Casillas for me.
Exactly. Pirlo couldnt do anything versus spain and wasnt even noticeable. Imo you need to be able to bring your best performance, when playing versus the best team. Pirlo didnt, while the other two did.
On July 04 2012 07:43 Holgerius wrote: Iniesta is a typical ''Let's just pick a guy from the winning team'' kind of choice IMO. Pirlo was the brightest shining star in this tournament.
and pirlo is just your typical hyped up player....
Alba and Iniesta were great players during this tournament, no doubt, but there was only one man who spent the entire fricken' tournament raising his team up, orchestrating pretty much every attack, making the entire team just better than the sum of its parts, and that man was Gerrar......haha. Can't even say that with a straight face. Pirlo, hands down.
On July 02 2012 19:39 et wrote: Why is Ronaldo even on the list?
He pretty much carried Portugal to the semi's on his own. I am not a Ronaldo fan at all but there cannot be any doubt he should be there, despite all of his missed opportunities against Spain.
On July 02 2012 19:39 et wrote: Why is Ronaldo even on the list?
He pretty much carried Portugal to the semi's on his own. I am not a Ronaldo fan at all but there cannot be any doubt he should be there, despite all of his missed opportunities against Spain.
He had basically 2 good games, 2 horrible games and 1 average (vs spain). Sure he scored some important goals, but you have to expect it from someone who doesn't do anything defensively.
I liked Pepe and Coentrao more in the Portuguese team.
How can Casillas be player of the tournament when he had to make like 3 saves the entire time lol. It's not that he's not an amazing keeper (which he is), he just didn't have to do anything because of the other 10 players on the pitch.
Fabregas had the plays of the tournament for Spain, but I think Iniesta was the most impressive throughout the whole event. In every game he provided an attacking presence that created space by going through defenders. Don't forget the pass he played to Fabregas for the first goal in the final. He also had the hockey assist on Fabregas' goal in the opener against Italy. The stats don't show his impact imo~
On July 02 2012 19:39 et wrote: Why is Ronaldo even on the list?
He pretty much carried Portugal to the semi's on his own. I am not a Ronaldo fan at all but there cannot be any doubt he should be there, despite all of his missed opportunities against Spain.
He had basically 2 good games, 2 horrible games and 1 average (vs spain). Sure he scored some important goals, but you have to expect it from someone who doesn't do anything defensively.
I liked Pepe and Coentrao more in the Portuguese team.
I dont agree with you i mean im not the biggest Ronaldofan either but he played a great Euro even if he didnt scored in the first 2 games he worked really hard for the Team and he played like a Teamplayer(mourinhos work Payed of). Offcourse it is not enough for the player of the Tournament(not in Final) but it was a great worldcup at the end for him. He scored 2 Really Really Important goals against Netherland and the Matchwinning Goal against czech. He showed that he is there if the team needs him. I think the game against Germany was just a tactical mistake by the coach and the game of Ronaldo against germany looked horrible because of the ultra defensive tactic. Not Ronaldos fault.
On July 04 2012 07:43 Holgerius wrote: Iniesta is a typical ''Let's just pick a guy from the winning team'' kind of choice IMO. Pirlo was the brightest shining star in this tournament.
and pirlo is just your typical hyped up player....
Um, Pirlo has had his whole career to confirm that he's not a hyped up player.
Yeah, Pirlo has been a playmaker for all his career. True playmakers are extremely rare in modern football and it takes huge skills. He was really impessive at his prime with AC Milan. He always has stood out as being able to play so deep. Being a small guy he is able to play just in front of the defense.
Also, his forward passing statistics are really impressive. He carried Italy most of the tournament. It was kinda emberassing how both England and Germany failed to neutralize Pirlo. But Spain was able to do this with their no striker system. There were moments that clearly showed how they put pressure on Pirlo every time he would get the ball. At one point he was on the right side of the field and forced to run all the way back and then pass to the GK. I am sure most of you saw hat in some post game analysis.
Neutralizing Pirlo neutralized Italy.
A tournament has to be a really really bad tournament for a goalkeeper to be the besat player. Goalkeepers is not why people watch football. I won't say they are a necessary evil. But come on guys, a GK as player of the tournament?
Ronaldo made plays only he and no other player ever can make. He also scored goals and carried his team. Yeah, he could have played better in the group phase. Yeah he should have taken an early penalty. But that's about it. This guy is so superskilled, it's sick.
Iniesta made huge plays for the best team in the tournament. I don't get this Iniesta vs Pirlo heat. Pirlo didn't do anything in the finals because Iniesta and Fabregas locked him down. It's a team game. If Italy had been stronger, Pirlo could have shined in the finals and won the best player award. He was just powerless in the finals. This got made worse by the 10 vs 11 because of the injury.
It's really hard to decide when pretty much all the players from Spain played with such amazing players that they didn't need to carry their team, they just played brilliantly. I feel that Pirlo was the one that really carried his team throughout the tournament.
On July 04 2012 17:47 Sanctimonius wrote: Alba and Iniesta were great players during this tournament, no doubt, but there was only one man who spent the entire fricken' tournament raising his team up, orchestrating pretty much every attack, making the entire team just better than the sum of its parts, and that man was Gerrar......haha. Can't even say that with a straight face. Pirlo, hands down.
Silly thing to say about one of the very best and most impactfull players of the group stages. He carried a horrible team, and in his one "bad" game he was constantly in a 4v2 battle alongside the positionaly questionable Scott Parker. Yet the very few times England had the chance to pull off a counter attack it was he that got upfield in position, only to be horribly failed by the attackers.
So solid. Never gets enough credit. I guess its a difficult comparison to make between a keeper and other positions though, and Iniesta does so much for the team.
I find it hard to justify giving it to a non-Spanaird though. They still tower above the rest of the competition.
Balotelli, because it felt like he was the only true forward in the tournament. Well, I guess you could say Mario Gomez is a forward as well, but then you would have to ackknowledge that Gomez plays football...
EPT
![[image loading]](http://cs306401.userapi.com/v306401679/80/_IqaOFidD-w.jpg)
Again sadly for him it was his last chance to win EURO and he never achieved it 
![[image loading]](http://www.intereconomia.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/ancho668/64585/cck_images/Balotelli_de_fiesta.jpg)
