Players To Watch Out For - Day 1
June 8, 2008 by CLDsport
We have only had one day of Euro 2008 so far - but here is our first edition of ‘Players To Watch Out For’. This is where you are going to find all the players who could - potentially - become the star of the tournament.
After the first two matches between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and Portugal and Turkey, we have identified the players who looked as though they may have an outstanding tournament.
Firstly, for the Swiss we have chosen Arsenal central defender Phillippe Senderos. Whereas Senderos done nothing spectacular, he is a defensive rock - at least by Swiss standards anyway! Didn’t put a foot wrong and if the Swiss are to reach the knockout stages he will need to continue this.
If Alexander Frei had not suffered what looks like a tournament ending injury in the first half, his name would have been here too. Frei looked threatening before his unfortunate knee injury - and could have put the Swiss 1-0 up if not for some fantastic keeping from Petr Cech. Frei will be sorely missed.
For the Czech’s, we are going to start with the aforementioned Petr Cech. In our opinion he is the best keeper in the world - and made several good saves before his side opened the scoring. Cech will be an important factor in the matches against Turkey and the outstanding Portugal.
Turkey’s star against Portugal (despite their defeat) was Kazim Richards. The ex-Brighton and Sheff Utd midfielder/striker looked impressive and dangerous. Born in England, but with a Turkish passport, Richards can play as either a striker or a right winger. On the right side of midfield for the meeting with Portugal he provided a few top quality balls into the box along with some exciting runs down the wing. Good passer of the ball, and has got pace.
We were impressed with Portugal from start to finish - so picking individual star performers was harder. But, we chose two players that just about rose above the rest in an impressive all round display.
The first is almost an obvious one: Cristiano Ronaldo. With all the talk surrounding his future, it was time to let the football do the talking. The winger has undoubted talent, and can turn a game in a second. Cheeky back heels, deft headers, dummies, and pure pace were all evident tonight. Anyone who watches the English Premier League on a regular basis will have come to expect this anyhow!
Moment of the night was a Ronaldo free-kick from about 40-yards out and at an angle you’d never expect a shot from. However, Ronaldo didn’t agree. A fantastic shot, low-down, forced a world-class fingertip save from the Turkey keeper who dived magnificently to his left to push the ball onto the post.
Our second pick is João Moutinho. The 21-year-old looked impressive throughout, and passed the ball around magnificently. Moutinho is already captain of his club side - Sporting Lisbon - and his maturity was evident this evening in Geneva. His pin-point passing and fantastic vision reminded us of a certain Rui Costa, and could prove to be a fantastic asset to the Portuguese.
Scolari certainly does have a fantastic array of attacking talent at his disposal, and after this evening’s 2-0 victory over Turkey it’s hard to see them being beaten.
Do you agree or disagree with our choices?
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