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Euro 2004
FLOP OF THE DAY
Deco (Portugal)
The hype has grown around this Brazilian-born playmaker over the past 14 months in which he has helped Porto to Uefa Cup and Champions League successes, but the diminutive linkman was deeply ineffective as the Euro 2004 title slipped away from Portugal’s grasp on Sunday night.
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| Deco ... deeply ineffective |
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TOP MAN
Giourkas Seitaridis (Greece)
The right back completed a hat-trick of successful man-marking jobs in the knock-out stages when superbly marshalling the dual wing threat of Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2004 final on Sunday night.
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TOP MAN
Traianos Dellas (Greece)
Once of Sheffield United, centre half Dellas has become a Greek god at these finals, never more so than in his match-winning performance – at both ends of the field – against the Czechs on Thursday night.
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| Dellas ... match-winner |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Jan Koller (Czech Republic)
Expertly marshalled by a man half his height, the giant striker’s influence was never as pronounced as his colleagues would have liked, and he contrived to miss the best chance of the game with 10 minutes remaining as the Czechs were dumped out of the tournament by minnows Greece.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Arjen Robben (Holland)
Chelsea’s new £13m signing dived and dived and dived, and was eventually booked for his con-artistry. Blues manager Jose Mourinho will have his work cut out in erasing the ominous characteristic from the 20-year-old’s character ahead of the start of the new Premiership season in six week’s time.
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| Robben ... artistic merit? |
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TOP MAN
Anders Frisk (Sweden)
The Swedish referee continues to rise in the estimation of the majority of football observers, and he was in top form to spot the cheating tendencies of all parties - in particular Dutch diver Arjen Robben - in Wednesday night’s first Euro 2004 semi-final.
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TOP MAN
Angelos Charisteas (Greece)
The big Werder Bremen striker came into this tournament as one of an array of Greek nobodies expected to hang around no longer than necessary, but his winning goal against the French in Friday night’s quarter-final carved him a place in his country’s history forever.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Jacques Santini (France)
The board of Spurs hailed as a major coup their appointment of France international manager Jacques Santini as their new boss before the start of the Euro 2004 finals – but those claims have rung hollow even before the new man is in situ in north London after his side’s dismal exit from the championships on Friday night.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Urs Meier (Switzerland)
The Swiss referee will be vilified in England for years following his outrageously controversial decision to disallow Sol Campbell’s last-minute “winner” in Thursday night’s Euro 2004 quarter-final.
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| Meier ... scapegoat |
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TOP MAN
Ricardo (Portugal)
The manner in which the Portuguese goalkeeper saved Darius Vassell’s sudden death penalty before smashing the winning kick low and hard to David James’s right to send the hosts through to the last four will see him earn the adulation of a nation.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Dick Advocaat (Holland)
Will the Dutch boss ever learn? After scraping through to the quarter-finals due to a massive favour from the Czech Republic’s second XI against Germany, Advocaat immediately - and ill-advisedly - claimed his side should safely overcome Sweden, their last eight opponents.
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| Mr Big Talk ... Advocaat |
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TOP MAN
Marek Heinz (Czech Republic)
In the great shop-window that is the European Championship finals, the Czech forward – who is not even a first-choice for his country – has firmly placed himself at the top of many wanted lists with his cameo performances for Karel Bruckner’s side in Portugal this summer.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 12: Czech second string help Dutch progress
Holland had the Czech Republic’s second string to thank for their advancement to the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 on Wednesday night, when Germany fell at the hands of the Group D winners to allow the Dutch to steal into second place and book a last eight meeting with Sweden.
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TOP MAN
Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark)
Long gone are his days as a laughing stock striker with Newcastle United, and the Milan hitman has stamped his authority on a major finals for the second successive tournament.
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| Tomasson ... great Dane |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Marco Materazzi (Italy)
The bungling former Everton centre half stood in for suspended skipper Fabio Cannavaro as Italy met Bulgaria on Tuesday night, but contributed to a level of defensive uncertainty unfamiliar to the Azzurri and gave away a first half penalty which left the Italians’ hopes of progressing in tatters.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 11: Conspiracy theories gain currency
Before Group C’s final games, those paranoid Italians had prepared themselves for the eventuality that they would make a swift exit regardless of the outcome of their game against Bulgaria, and a clamour of protests against alleged match-rigging will undoubtedly follow after Denmark and Sweden drew 2-2 in Porto - the exact result that was guaranteed to see the Scandinavian pair through to the quarter-finals.
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TOP MAN
Wayne Rooney (England ... again)
England’s Pele, Wayne Rooney, may have lost his status as the youngest ever scorer in a European Championship finals tournament on Monday night, but little else went wrong for the teenage wonder as his double drove his side to a place in the last eight.
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| Rooney ... boyhood idol |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Alexander Frei (Switzerland)
Frei, the man who put the boot into Ireland’s Euro 2004 hopes last October, was ejected from the Swiss squad before Monday night’s game against France and faces a post-tournament disciplinary hearing after new footage proved him guilty of spitting at England’s Steven Gerrard last Thursday.
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ROUND-UP
Day 10: England march on after early scare
Roonaldo? Rooney-mania? Well at least it’s a change from Tiger Tim and Henman Hill, but what if a Rooney-inspired England continue their merry march towards the Euro 2004 decider on Sunday week and Henman builds on his recent French Open exploits to mount a realistic challenge on the Wimbledon crown? Gulp...
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Inaki Saez (Spain)
The Spanish manager came into the tournament with a reputation built on his achievements with his country’s youth teams in the past, but he could soon be out of a job after his side again failed to emerge from the group stages of a finals tournament.
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| Inaki Saez ... bad decisions |
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TOP MAN
Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)
While Nuno Gomes grabbed the goal that ensured a party of all parties in Lisbon, it was the defensive excellence of the hosts, and particularly the brilliant Carvalho, that stood out against Spain after Gomes’s strike just before the hour mark had turned the tide.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 9: Greeks join hosts in last eight
Group A was decided on Sunday night, with Spain, who needed just a point against Portugal to advance, falling victim to Nuno Gomes’s second half winner and Greece hanging on for the 2-1 defeat that saw them claim the second spot in the last eight.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Germany - 1 to 11 and beyond
They came into the competition under a very big dark cloud only for the droplets to dissipate in an impressive 1-1 draw against Holland. However, Michael Ballack, Kevin Kuranyi & Co are back in the doldrums after a scoreless draw with little Latvia on Saturday.
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| Ballack ... subdued |
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TOP MAN
The Czechs’ attacking talent
For the second time in these championships, the Czech Republic have been behind inside the past 20 minutes only to come back and seal back-to-back wins, a feat they could not have managed without a stunning seven-strong batch of creative talent, led by European Player the Year Pavel Nedved.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 8: "Perfection" as Czechs recover to dump Dutch
Saturday night’s meeting of the Czech Republic and Holland in Euro 2004 Group D, which saw the Czechs fall two behind early on only to complete a stunning second half comeback to seal a 3-2 victory, was immediately hailed as one of the greatest examples in living memory of sustained attacking football from two sides.
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TOP MAN
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Championship Manager geeks (or at least those with access to "helpful" website URLs) will have known about Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a long time, but away from the PC, in real-live actual football, the languidly skilful target-man has burst on the scene at these Euro finals.
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| Zlatan ... top man |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Giovanni Trapattoni (Italy)
“Trap” has been at the helm of the Italy national side for almost four years, an outrageously long term for the Azzurri manager, but he may have to job-hunt in a few weeks if his decision to retreat into his shell on Friday night cuts short Italy’s time at Euro 2004.
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| Gio ... on the defensive |
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ROUND-UP
DAY 7: Swedes spoil the party
The Italians were, by several accounts, the most impressive team on display at Euro 2004 in the first half of their clash with Sweden on Friday night, but a late equalizer after the favourites had attempted to preserve a one-goal lead leaves the Azzurri under pressure ahead of Tuesday’s decisive matches in Group C.
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TOP MAN
Wayne Rooney (England)
(Concerted eleven-a-side.com attempt to be magnanimous:) The Everton striker – who incidentally could have played for Ireland had he (a) chosen/(b)been poached earlier in his career – became the youngest ever scorer in European Championship history.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Bernt Haas (Switzerland)
Technically, the point of the Flop of the Day was to point the finger at underachieving, overhyped prima donnas – hence the nominations of phlegm-filled Francesco Totti and mahogany-limbed Alessandro del Piero over the first five days of the tournament.
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| Swsitzerland’s Burnt Ass |
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ROUND-UP
DAY 6: Swiss continue goalless run
Four games played, no goals scored. The shocking run of Ireland’s qualification rivals at the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal continued on Thursday with Switzerland’s inept failure to test England weak link, David “Calamity” James. Elsewhere, David Trezeguet’s equalizer for France against the plucky Croats caused a bit of a spat in RTE.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Francesco Totti (Italy)
The gifted Roman playmaker just about survived the mass criticism of his side’s performance against the Danes on Monday, but he may not survive a Uefa disciplinary inquiry into a spitting incident during that game.
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| Totti .. the spitting spanner |
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TOP MAN
Otto Rehhagel (Greece)
Greece’s German manager has masterminded the surprise packets of the tournament to four points from their first two games against the big guns of Group A, and they now need just a point against goalless, pointless, backbone-less Russia on Sunday to seal an unlikely place in the knock-out stages.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 5: Irish foes make tame exit
Russia, who edged out Ireland for the play-off place from Euro 2004 qualification Group 10, further underlined their feebleness with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the nervous Portuguese hosts in Lisbon, while, earlier in the day, the Greeks kept the spanner firmly in the works with a battling draw against fancied Spain.
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TOP MAN
Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
When his side needed him, the European Player of the Year responded with a sizzling performance, as usual full of skill and poise, but combined with a prodigious work ethic to drag his team to a vital victory over dogged minnows Latvia.
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| Nedved ... verve and energy |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Edgar Davids (Holland)
The man with the big hair and the big reputation has generally delivered for Holland on the big stage in the past, but his withdrawal after 45 minutes of his side’s clash with bitter rivals Germany on Tuesday night makes him the Flop of the Day.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 4: Czechs impress the pundits
Despite having to come from behind to defeat tiny Latvia in the dying minute of the Group D opener in Aveiro, the Czech Republic still managed to impress the TV analysts, while Germany and Holland later in the evening caused a rift of opinion across the network divide.
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TOP MAN
Henrik Larsson (Sweden)
On a day that saw some overpaid, overhyped Italians play second fiddle to Denmark, the exuberance of Sweden’s Celtic legend was thoroughly invigorating on his return to international football after a self-imposed two-year exile.
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| Larsson ... top form |
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Alessandro del Piero (Italy)
Long gone are the days of Alessandro del Piero’s youth, when he vied with the imperious Roberto Baggio for the number ten shirt in the Italy national team. Long gone, too, are the last remnants of his ability, judging by his abysmal display against Denmark on Monday evening.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 3: Comeback bliss for Larsson
Celtic legend Henrik Larsson scored two cracking goals, including the best diving header of all time, as Sweden burst from the blocks to pound Bulgaria on Monday night, hours after Italy’s prima-donnas had flattered to deceive against the dominant Danes in Group C’s opening encounter.
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| Zidane ... one of the greats |
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TOP MAN
Zinedine Zidane (France)
For 90 minutes his attempts came to nought and the curtain seemed about to fall on a famous England triumph, but then, in the space of 120 panic-filled seconds in the Estadio da Luz, Zidane etched his name large in the pantheon of greatness with a match-winning double-whammy to down the old enemy.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Michael Owen (England)
It may be unfair to single out Owen, particularly when colleagues Steven Gerrard and David Beckham failed to hit the heights expected of England’s finest, but the Liverpool man was so anonymous before his substitution that he becomes the second eleven-a-side.com Flop of the Day.
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ROUND-UP
DAY 2: Zizou double blast downs Anglos
In pubs and armchairs all over the country, honorary Frenchman hummed La Marseillaise and prostrated themselves at the altar of Zizou. Since Troy fell in just two-and-a-half hours, have we ever seen a more redoubtable collapse?
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TOP MAN
Theo Zagorakis (Greece)
The Greece captain set the tone with an impressive zeal for the physical battle that left the hosts and Group A favourites resigned to defeat at the hands of one of the competition’s lesser lights in the opener at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto on Saturday afternoon.
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FLOP OF THE DAY
Rui Costa (Portugal)
The focal point of the Golden Generation for much of the past decade, the playmaker was withdrawn after an ineffectual 45 minutes against the Greeks and is expected to be confined to the bench when the hosts mount a retrieval mission against Russia on Wednesday.
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| Rui Costa ... past it? |
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ROUND-UP
DAY 1: Portugal bear Greek gifts
The hosts came into the tournament highly-fancied to make home advantage count and claim outright success to cap the careers of their so-called Golden Generation, but Rui Costa et al are apparently well on their way to becoming the Geriatric Generation on the evidence of the tournament opener in Porto on Saturday evening.
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"Keane placed Miller on the transfer list and then cast serious aspersions on his players’ professionalism in a press conference. That was nothing short of disgraceful. Miller is a terrific professional who has performed admirably for Keane and Sunderland. He isn’t a party boy. He doesn’t deserve to have his name dragged through the mud by his manager." -
Eamon Dunphy attacks Roy Keane’s treatment of Liam Miller.
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The 2008 eircom League starts on March 7th. Who do you fancy for top honours this year?
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