Xavi chosen best player
July 1, 2008
Xavi chosen best player, No room for Ronaldo in the UEFA Squad
After the completion of what was the spectacle in all major football competitions of 2008, it was revealed that Xavi, Spanish midfielder, was named best player in EURO 2008. A panel of experts voted the 28 year-old playmaker as ‘Castrol Player of the Tournament’.
The Barcelona midfielder played as the heartbeat in the midfield of Spanish side throughout the tournament.
However, it was shocking to see the absence of Portugal Striker, Christiano Ronaldo, in the EURO 2008 squad of the tournament, which had 23 players performing out of their skins in the championships.
Barring Ronaldo, there were as many as six players from the Barclaycards Premier league. Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United keeper), Jose Bosingwa & Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool) and Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspurs) were the ones, who made it to the elite team.
Andy Roxburgh, technical director of UEFA, explained the absence of the Manchester United striker was only for his side not progressing in the business end of 2008. He said that team was chosen on performance rather then reputation.
Roxburgh felt that the striker could have been in the squad, if Portugal progressed further. Ronaldo featured in the all-star squad of Champions League selected by the same panel earlier this season.
Squad of the Tournament as chosen by UEFA officials:
Goalkeepers: Van der Sar (Netherlands), Casillas (Spain) & Buffon (Italy
Defenders: Lahm (Germany), Bosingwa (Portugal), Pepe (Portugal), Marchena (Spain), Zhirkov (Russia) Puyol (Spain)
Midfielders: Modric (Croatia), Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Xavi (Spain), Senna (Spain), Iniesta (Spain), Fabregas (Spain), Ballack (Germany) Zyryanov (Russia), Sneijder (Netherlands) & Podolski (Germany)
Striker: Villa (Spain), Torres (Spain), Pavlyuchenko (Russia) & Arshavin (Russia)
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