Euro 2012 dream team

There we have it, 31 games in 23 days, some great football, some red cards, some goal line controversy, an England Quarter Final exit on penalties and, of course, a Spanish victory.

Euro 2012 has been a good tournament to watch, and we have seen some great players and some superb goals.

This set me thinking, in a competition of European football’s finest, there are always going to be great players, but who were the best in Poland and Ukraine? So I decided to pick a Euro 2012 dream team. (No it isn’t the Spanish starting 11!)

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas- A pretty obvious choice, the Seleccion captain has been there and done it all before, but another great tournament from the Madrid man. He was called into action a few times and dealt with it with minimum fuss, a calming influence on the European and World Champions.

Right Back: Philipp Lahm- Although he didn’t cover himself in glory for Mario Balotelli’s second goal in the semi final, he had a good tournament. He was defensively sound, rarely putting a foot wrong, and scored a great goal in the Quarter Final against Greece.

Centre Back: Pepe- The Real Madrid player has had a very good tournament and was instrumental in Portugal’s route out of the group of death and to the Semi Final. Positionally very good, assured in possession, and also scored against Denmark.

Centre Back: Sergio Ramos- Pepe’s Real Madrid colleague was combative, good in the tackle and also showed how adept he is at going forward, having more shots than any other defender at Euro 2012. We shouldn’t forget his chipped penalty in the shootout victory against Portugal either.

Left Back: Alba looks to be a class act, costing Barcelona 11million just the other day. He was excellent going forward, scoring the crucial second in the final last night.

Central Midfield: Andres Iniesta- Officially the player of the tournament, the Spaniard was pivotal in everything the Seleccion did, claiming a vital assist against Croatia and having more shots on target without scoring than any other player.

Central Midfield: Andrea Pirlo- The conductor of the Azzurri orchester, Pirlo’s touch, awareness and passing are quite something to behold. He completed 131 passes against England, scored against Croatia and was absolutely key to Itally’s progression to the final.

Central Midfield: Xavi- A player whose passing is so complete, he made the delicious through ball for Jordi Alba’s goal last night and has completed more passes than any other player ever at the European Championships.

Attacking Midfield: Mesut Ozil- Was particularly impressive for Germany in the group stage and the Quarter Final, when he had time on the ball, Joachim Low’s men won. After he was shifted out wide against Italy, the Germans lost creativity down the middle.

Striker: Mario Gomez- Scored 3 goals and notched an assist, his brace against arch rivals the Netherlands would have gone down well back home in Germany, looked clinical in front of goal.

Striker: Alan Dzagoev- It was a toss up between Dzagoev and Balotelli, and his goals to game ratio is what does it for me. His second against the Czech Republic was very good, has been linked with Spurs.

Below is a video of Jordi Alba’s goal against Italy in the Euro 2012 final last night.

@georgepowell8