Diary / Jonathan Wilson / 29 June 2008 / Leave a comment

Jonathan gives us a little insight into life as a football writer: they all gather around and discuss who's going to make the team of the tournament. Anyway, here's his...

Football journalists, for the most part, are pretty sad people. We may affect an air of indifference, but for the last three or four days most of the talk in the restaurants and bars has been of who will make our teams of the tournament. For what it's worth, here's mine - in, of
course, the 4-2-3-1 formation that has dominated the competition.

TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT (4-2-3-1): Iker Casillas; Alexander Anyukov,
Carlos Marchena, Giorgio Chiellini, Razvan Rat; Michael Ballack,
Marcos Senna; Luka Modric, Andrei Arshavin, Wesley Sneijder; Ruud van
Nistelrooy

Casillas: It was his fingertip save, lunging to his left, to turn away Roman Pavlyuchenkos; shot on the turn in the first half of the semi-final that earned him the nod, although Gianluigi Buffon, Edwin van der Sar, Artur Boruc and Stipe Pletikoa all had fine tournaments.

Anyukov: The attacking full-backs were one of the great features of Russia's play. Yuri Zhirkov, the left-back, can count himself a little unfortunate not to force his way in, but there was a frenetic air to his play, while the Zenit right-back operated with a great sense of
control. He is quick and a fine crosser, but his greatest gift is probably his tactical awareness.

Marchena: Few centre-backs stood out in a tournament of attacking play, but Marchena was as good as anyone, and shouldered the extra responsibility while Carles Puyol was injured. In the semi-final victory over Russia, he handled the awkward Roman Pavlyuchenko with
great diligence, more than allaying doubts over his form raised by a poor season with Valencia.

Chiellini: A largely unsung presence who probably wouldn't even have played had it not been for the injury to Fabio Cannavaro. He was, in a sense, typically Italian, uncompromising and physical, and he did as good a job of neutralising the attacking threat of the Spanish partnership of Fernando Torres and David Villa as anyone.

Rat: Left-back was probably the most difficult position to select. Zhirkov had a great tournament, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was very good, Phillip Lahm continues to impress (at least going forward), Danijel Pranjic was a revelation, but Rat gets the nod for his combination of defensive discipline and forward surges. A very good crosser of the ball - an essential in a tournament of attacking full-backs.

Ballack: The Chelsea midfielder has remained Germany's driving force, whether operating as an orthodox central midfielder or as a more attacking central presence in a 4-2-3-1. Characteristically, when they desperately needed a goal against Austria, it was Ballack who provided it, thumping a fulminating free-kick into the top corner.

Senna: The most unsung member of the Spain midfield, but the most effective in this tournament. Operating on front of the back four he both protected a rickety central defence and gave the more creative three midfielders the freedom to roam. He was particularly impressive in the quarter-final against Italy, dominating the tempo of the game.

Modric: The group game against Germany, won 2-1 by Croatia, was enough to dispel any fears Tottenham may have had about the wisdom of splashing out £16million on the waif-like playmaker from Dinamo Zagreb. He was magnificent, resisting the physicality of big opponents to control the game from an advanced midfield role.

Arshavin: He had a poor game against Spain in the semi, but that should not disguise the fact that no player has dominated games at this level the way he did against Sweden and Holland since Michel Platini was in his pomp. He's quick, he's got nimble feet, he can dribble, he can pass, he can cross, he can score, but his greatest gift is his tremendous awareness, his seemingly preternatural gift for understanding the dynamics of the pitch.

Sneijder: There was a good argument for including David Villa on the left of the three (he can't play as a back-to-goal striker in this 4-2-3-1), but Sneijder got the nod for his performances in the group stages, when he was the central intelligence in the Dutch wins over Italy and France. And his volleyed second against Italy was majestic.

Van Nistelrooy: He was always slightly ore than a mere goalscorer at Manchester United, but not this much more. His chest control has always been excellent, but here, as a lone striker, he also worked tirelessly, pulling to both touchlines. The double roulette in the
build-up to Robin van Persie's goal against France was quite brilliant.

Tags: Euro 2008 bets, Euro 2008 team of the tournament, Modric