By: Jordan Raanan, My Sportsbook Soccer Editor
Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The European Championships of 2004 were filled with so much good (Greece) and so much bad (Totti and Frei). Now that the competition is a wrap, here is my take on the electrifying events of the past three weeks.
WORST SUBSTITUTE DECISION: It almost cost Netherlands coach Dick Advocaat his sanity and his job when he replaced youngster Arjen Robben during an early match against the Czech Republic. Robben's defensive replacement Paul Bosvelt was crucified by the Dutch fans and, if not for an awful effort from Germany several days later, might have never been forgotten if Holland hadn't luckily advanced out of group play.
BEST SUB DECISION: Portugal's Luis Felipe Scolari has incredible intestinal fortitude for removing national icon Luis Figo during a quarterfinal match against England. The host country was losing 1-0 when Figo lumbered off the field in obvious disbelief. The move eventually paid off when his replacement Helder Postiga scored in the 83rd minute to tie the game, validating Scolari's genius and the need for the switch.
NEOPHYTES THRUST INTO THE SPOTLIGHT: Youth ruled EURO 2004. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo showed his brilliance throughout the competition. Robben was dominant for Holland on the left wing and Italy's Antonio Cassano was breathtaking while playing for the suspended Francesco Totti. England's Wayne Rooney, though, stole the spotlight completely. He scored four goals in 3 1/2 matches, giving England a bona fide star up front for now and the future. Who knows what would have happened if he didn't break his ankle in the first half of the quarterfinal match against Portugal. The final could have been a totally different matchup.
BIGGEST BONEHEADED BLUNDER: No solo winner could be picked in this category as Totti and Switzerland's Alexander Frei both committed the same inexcusable, nonsensical act. Totti hurt his team immensely when he spit on Denmark's Christian Poulsen in the Azzurri's first match of the competition. Just days later, Frei did the same to England's Steven Gerrard. Both should have received even more severe bans than they were assessed.
BEST GOAL: This was a tight race. The Czech Republic's Marek Heinze scored on one of the prettiest free kicks you might ever witness against Germany in group play. Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic earned his side a draw with a flying back heel against Italy. Portugal's Maniche, though, topped them both with an amazing strike in the semifinals against the Netherlands. Maniche took a short corner kick and ripped a curling shot from long range off the post and into the upper corner of the net. It was a beauty that can rarely be duplicated, especially in such a crucial situation of a pressure match.
BEST GOALSCORER: The Czech Republic's Milan Baros collected the golden boot for his five goals in the competition. Even in the semifinal loss to Greece, Baros was consistently dangerous. But I'll bet my pen that he would trade the golden boot for the championship trophy in a heartbeat.
BEST FANS: England had strong representation in Portugal, but the Greece fans seemed to come out of nowhere. Despite being outnumbered in the final against the host country, at times they drowned out the Portuguese faithful. Their volume and exuberance was almost as impressive as the team's effort and accomplishment.
BEST NEOPHYTE TEAM: Heck, there isn't much competition here. Greece had never won a match at a major competition prior to 2004. They sure won a lot of matches in Portugal, enough to earn them the title.
WAVE GOOD-BYE TO: France could be a new-look team the next time we see them at the European Championships. Coach Jacques Santini is already gone and superstar Zinedine Zidane might also follow in the next few years. Former captain Marcel Desailly has announced his retirement from the international game and Gregory Coupet, Fabian Barthez, Lilian Thuram, Robert Pires, Claude Makelele and Bixente Lizarazu are all in their 30s, making an appearance in 2008 highly unlikely.
MOST ENTERTAINING MATCH: The highly-anticipated opener for France and England was an absolute classic decided in the final minute. While you would also like to pick every match involving the Czech Republic, you just can't. With the need to whittle down the choices to one, the Netherlands/Czech match in group play wins out. A model of aesthetic beauty, this contest was an exhibition of offensive perfection. It was a match that will remain locked in our memories forever, especially since the Czech Republic rallied back for the dramatic win.
MOST ENTERTAINING TEAM: Obviously, the Czech Republic and its high-scoring outfit.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The choices here are plentiful. Traditional powerhouses Germany, Spain and Italy were all ousted during group play. Italy, though, didn't lose a match so its failure can not rank up there with the other two. Spain's flop was more expected given its history of underachieving. Germany, on the other hand, was coming off an appearance in the 2002 World Cup final and a positive result against a second-string Czech side in its final match of the group stage would have sent them on to the quarterfinals. The German's lack of offense and goal scoring was borderline embarrassing.
BIGGEST SURPRISE: Greece. Title. Enough said.
BEST COACH: This is another gimme. Greece's Otto Rehhagel might have just won the award for coach of the millennium with his tremendous work during the competition as he helped his side pull off the biggest shock in European Championship history.
COMEBACK PLAYER: Ruud van Nistelrooy missed the last EURO due to injury. He proved what many of us already knew: he is one of the best goal scorers in the world today. Van Nistelrooy finished tied for second in the competition with four strikes for the Netherlands.
POOR INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE: Besides for a solid 20-minute stretch, France's star striker Thierry Henry struggled to score. His inability to finish in the tournament hurt France greatly, resulting in the quarterfinal departure.
UNDERRATED PLAYER: The entire Greek team could petition for this award. Defender Giourkas Seitardis, though, did his part by shutting down Henry and Baros on the road to the final for the eventual champions.
THE My Sportsbook'S EURO 2004 STARTING 11:
Goalkeeper: Antonis Nikopolidis (Greece).
Defense: Traianos Dellas (Greece); Thomas Helveg (Denmark); Giorgos Seitaridis (Greece); Ashley Cole (England).
Midfielders: Zinedine Zidane (France); Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic); Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece).
Attackers: Wayne Rooney (England); Milan Baros (Czech Republic); Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands).
HONORABLE MENTION:
Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (Sweden); Petr Cech (Czech Republic).
Defense: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal); Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy); Thomas Helveg (Denmark); Olof Mellberg (Sweden).
Midfielders: Karel Poborsky (Czech Republic); Maniche (Portugal); Philip Cocu (Netherlands); Fredrick Ljungberg (Sweden).
Attackers: Henrik Larsson (Sweden); Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal); Arjen Robben (Netherlands); Antonio Cassano (Italy); Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark).
FINAL THOUGHT: Can you really believe that Greece won? I refuse to accept that any so-called expert predicted that! See you again in four years.
