Euro 2008 - Star Players
One of the most prestigious and highly anticipated events in European football for fans and players alike is the UEFA Euro 2008 championships in Austria and Switzerland and the action promises to be hotter than ever!
Here we take a detailed look at the players who are expected to play a starring role for their respective countries during Euro 2008 PLUS links to video clips of them doing what they do best!
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, better known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional football player, who plays for Manchester United F.C. and Portugal is considered one of the finest young talents today.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his senior debut for Portugal shortly after being signed by United, in a match against Kazakhstan in August 2003. He has become one of the key players for Portugal since then.
The controversial moment of Ronaldo’s career was in World Cup 2006, where he was alleged to have influenced the referee to send off his Manchester United team mate, England striker Wayne Rooney in their quarter finals clash.
A winner of the 2007 English PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, and third in the 2007 World Player of the Year award, Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the most talented footballers of his generation.Ronaldo also won the 2008 English PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, giving him back to back victories for both awards.
Ronaldo’s performance's in the 2007/2008 season were simply awesome with 41 goals in the League and Cup competitions helping Man Utd to Premier League and Champions League glory over Chelsea....despite Ronaldo missing a penalty in the Champions League Moscow shoot-out!
At the age of 23, Cristiano Ronaldo has already been recognised as a world class player. With continual improvement and experience, there’s no doubt that he is going to become one of the world's best players - if he isn't already!
Click here to watch Cristiano Ronaldo in action!
Arjen Robben - Holland
Arjen Robben was born on January 23, 1984 in Bedum, Holland. He is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a winger (left sided) for Real Madrid. He is also a part of the Netherlands national football team, appearing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004 and is expected to be a star player for the Dutch during Euro 2008.
During his early career, Robben was named F.C. Groningen's team player of the year during the Eredivisie 2000-01 season and the Netherlands' Young Player of the Year during his time at PSV Eindhoven. He was also the FA Premier League Player of the Month during the month of November 2005 at Chelsea F.C.
Robben has played in 27 games for the Netherlands, scoring 8 goals. The first international experience of Robben's career came in Euro 2004, as the Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. During Euro 2004 Dutch coach Dick Advocaat substituted Robben in the 66th minute with a 2-1 lead over the Czech Republic. The Czech team then scored two goals and won 3-2, which led to criticism about Advocaat's decision. In the same tournament, it was Robben who scored the deciding penalty in the shootout between Holland and Sweden, which ensured that at the fifth attempt, the Dutch finally won a penalty shootout.
Robben played in his first World Cup Qualifiers in 2006. In six games for the Netherlands, Robben scored two goals. The Netherlands qualified for the World Cup in 2006 and in Holland's opening match against Serbia and Montenegro, Robben scored the winning goal in the 18th minute, and was named the Man of the Match. In the match against Côte d'Ivoire, Robben received this award the second time, thus becoming one of the eight players in the tournament to have won the Man of the Match Award more than once.
In the 2007/2008 season Robben's Real Madrid appearances were restricted by injury but he has come back to form just in time for Euro 2008. With vital goals against Osasuna and Barcelona in the final games of the domestic La Liga season Robben helped secure Real Madrid the Spanish League title once again!
Click here to watch Arjen Robben in action!
Bastian Schweinsteiger - Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger was born on August 1, 1984 in Kolbermoor, Bavaria, Germany and is a professional footballer from Germany who currently plays in midfield for Bayern Munich.
Schweinsteiger scored his first Bayern goal against VfL Wolfsburg in September 2003. Surprisingly sent back to Bayern's reserves by new coach Felix Magath at the beginning of the 2004-05 season despite his international exploits of the summer in the Confederations Cup, Schweinsteiger swiftly returned to play a role in the double-winning campaign and scored in Bayern's Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat at Chelsea FC.
He made his international debut in 2004 in a friendly against Hungary. Bayern's number 31 earned rave reviews for his Euro 2004 performances in Portugal, showing combative skills and even setting up the opening goal for Bayern teammate Michael Ballack in Germany's 2-1 loss against the Czech Republic.
He scored his first two international goals on June 8, 2005 against Russia and scored his first goal at a major tournament against Tunisia on June 18, 2005 at the Confederations Cup in Germany. This was followed up by two strikes in the third place play-off game at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, also in his home country. He practically performed a hat-trick with his two goals and an own goal, also off his shot, by Portugal's Petit, which led the Germans to a third place win over Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
During Euro Cup 2008 qualifiers, he scored two goals enroute to a 13-0 win over San Marino in San Marino. He scored the third goal in Germany's 4-1 win over Slovakia in Bratislava. Alongside Ballack in the German midfield, Schweinsteiger has the proven ability to score goals on the big stage and he could drive the Germans to Euro 2008 glory!
Click here to watch Bastian Schweinsteiger in action!
David Villa - Spain
David Villa Sánchez was born on December 3, 1981 in Langreo, Asturias, Spain and is nicknamed El Guaje (The Kid in Asturian). He is a Spanish football player, who currently plays for Valencia CF and the Spanish national side. He is well known for his lethal finishing and his intelligent off the ball runs.
David Villa made his national debut on February 9, 2005 in Almeria. It was a match between Spain and San Marino in which Spain won 5-0.
Villa was included in Spain's 23 man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and was favoured over the more established striker Raúl, to line up alongside Fernando Torres in the opening match against Ukraine. Villa made his first World Cup finals appearance scoring twice against Ukraine. He added one more from the penalty spot in Spain's 1-3 defeat to France in a Round of 16 knock-out match. He finished joint top goal scorer for Spain along with Fernando Torres in World Cup 2006 with 3 goals.
After the World Cup, Villa continued to be Spain's first choice striker, starting all 11 international matches during 2006–07 season. He also scored an impressive 8 goals from those matches and was Spain's top scorer in Euro 2008 qualifying with 7 goals. He scored the winning goal against Italy with a spectacular volley in a friendly match on 26 March 2008.
With Valencia's poor domestic campaign Villa may well be looking to put himself in the "shop window" for a new club with a strong performance with Spain in Euro 2008. Villa is a prolific striker at club and international and he may be worth looking at for the "Golden Boot" for Euro 2008!
Click here to watch David Villa in action!
Luca Toni - Italy
Luca Toni was born on May 26, 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Modena, Italy. He is an Italian football striker who plays for FC Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. Toni was part of the Italian winning team in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Toni made his debut for the Italian national team as a substitute on on August 18, 2004 in a friendly match against Iceland. He scored his first international goal in a World Cup Qualifying match against Norway on September 4, 2004.
On November 17, 2004, Toni made his international start in a friendly match against Finland. On June 11, 2005, Toni captained the Italian national team for the first time in his career in a friendly match against Ecuador because of the absence of current captain Fabio Cannavaro and other experienced players. On September 7, 2005, Toni scored his first international hat-trick in a 4-1 victory against Belarus in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match.
Toni was selected to Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, and scored two goals in the quarter-finals against Ukraine on June 30, 2006, his only goals of the tournament.
Toni scored two goals in Italy's 2–0 win over Scotland in a EURO 2008 qualifier. Due to the aforementioned foot surgery, he missed Italy's next two qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. He returned to the qualification games against Georgia, and assisted Fabio Grosso, who scored the final result (2–0). On the 17 November 2007, Toni struck in the first minute of a 2–1 qualifier win over Scotland at Hampden Park, which secured Italy's place at the final stages. Four days later, he scored the second goal against the Faroe Islands, as Italy closed with a 3–1 win.
If is as expected the World Cup winners Italy perform well at Euro 2008 then Luca Toni's goals will be important! A great target man, dangerous in the air and bang in form following 24 goals for Bayern Munich in the 2007/2008 Bundesliga campaign!
Click here to watch Luca Toni in action!
All player information sourced from Wikipedia
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