Greatest Euro matches: England-Iceland (2016)

ll countries appear to have a golden generation in football, and the 2016 Iceland side most definitely count as Iceland’s Golden Generation, that put the small northern Atlantic nation on the footballing maps of the world. 

Already during qualification the Icelanders had caught the attention of the world: they were particularly strong at home in Reykyavik, not losing a single match, and defeating teams like the Czech Republic, Turkey and Netherlands. And it was the Netherlands that suffered the Icelandic unlikely rise, as the lost at home to Iceland, that sealed Iceland’s first qualification ever to a major tournament. 

Iceland’s squad was managed by the former Swedish manager Lars Lagerback, with lot of experience and who had built a solid team with a mixture of players from medium level European clubs. Their most notable player was the 38-year old veteran Eidur Gudjohnsen, who with a long career in clubs like Chelsea and Barcelona, was playing in Norwegian Molde at the time, but did no longer play a leading role. In the meantime players like Aron Gunnarsson and Gylfi Sigurdsson, from Cardiff and Swansea respectively, played leading roles. Defense was built around Ragnar Sigurdsson, from Russian Krasnodar and Kari Arnasson from Malmø FF. Midfield was complemented by experienced and solid players like Johann Berg Gudundsson from Charlton Athletic, Birkir Bjarnasson from Swiss Basel, and Emil Hallfredsson from Udinese. Finally, they had some interesting strikers in Jon Dadi Bodvarsson from 1.FC Kaiserslautern and Kolbein Sigthorson from Nantes in France. 

Despite their qualification results and the experienced side, expectations were not high as they drew giants Portugal, Hungary and Austria in their opening stage group, and they opened against one of the favourites: Portugal. Although Portugal heavily criticized the Icelanders for their defensive posture, truth was that the 1-1 result was not just surprising, but fully deserved, as the Icelanders showed that qualification had not been a one-off event. Followed by a large crowd of fantastic fans they went on to tie 1-1 with the later group winners of Hungary, and defeated Austria 2-1 to sensationally make it to the last-16, where they were to face none other than England! 

As almost every tournament, England entered as favourites, at least to themselves, but this time there seemed to be reason for some optimism: England had qualified in style, winning all their matches. The team, managed by the experienced Roy Hodgson, was full of players playing at the highest level in the Premier League, in teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. The team captain was the veteran superstar Wayne Rooney from Manchester United, complemented by other strong striker’s such as Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Leicester’s Jamie Vardy. The Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had experienced Gary Cahill from Chelsea in front of him. Experienced midfielders like Liverpool’s James Millner and Jordan Henderson, as well as Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere also complemented some exciting young players such as Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling. 

All in all it seemed expectations were justified, and they had no reason to complain about their first round grouping with Wales, Slovakia and Russia. 

But it did not start well. The first match against Russia ended 1-1 with a last minute Russian equalizer. In the derby against Wales England pulled a hard-fought last minute 2-1 victory, only to miss winning the group when they only tied 0-0 with Slovakia in the last match in a disappointing match. Still, without playing well, England was through and probably felt they had little to feat when facing Iceland in the knock-out phases. 

Roy Hodgson lined up a three-man defense and gave the opportunity to many of the younger players. In the meantime Iceland had no changes from their previous three matches, and although a hard fighting side, they also appeared predictable. 

Only 4 minutes into the match Daniel Sturridge was awarded a penalty kick that Wayne Rooney scored on. Perhaps England were two optimistic, but only two minutes later the defender Ragnar Siggurdson scored following one of the long throws from Aron Gunnarson, one threat that England knew they should have defended against. Iceland were on fire and barely ten minutes later the Nantes player Kolbeinn Sigthorsson got a shot through between the defenders. Hart was too slow, and although getting his hand on the ball and slowing it, it still passed him and went into goal. 

2-1 for Iceland, and much of the match to go, so one would expect England to pressure, and they did, but never really created much danger except for many long-shots that never really threatened the Icelanders who, as the match advanced, not only seemed to fight harder and harder, but also became more threatening in the counterattacks. Sigthorsson even came close to score on a bicycle kick, which would have been a complete humiliation for England. 

Many called it one of the greatest humiliations of an English side, but truth is that they played very poorly in a match where they should have shown more. Roy Hodgson immediately resigned while England had to lick its wounds and look forward to the next tournament. In the meantime Iceland and their splendid fans were unexpectedly in the quarterfinals facing the French hosts. They lost the match 5-2 in Paris, but it was definitely a memorable tournament for a side that took Europe with storm for the first time!
 

Nice, 27th June 2016, Alianz Riviera 
Attendance: 33,900 
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia) 

England- Iceland 1-2 

England: Joe Hart; Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling,; Danny Rose, Eric Dyer (Jack Wilshere, 45), Dele Alli, Daniel Sturridge; Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney (c) (Marcus Rashford, 86), Raheem Sterling (Jamie Vardy, 60). Coach: Roy Hodgson;
Iceland: Hannes Haldorsson; Birkir Mar Sævarsson, Kari Arnason, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Ali Freyr Skulason; Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Aron Gunnarsson (c), Birkir Bjarnason; Kolbein Sigthorsson (Elmar Bjarnason, 76), Jon Bodvarsson (arbor Ingvi Traustason, 89). Coach: Lars Lagerbäck 

Goals:
1-0 Wyne Rooney (pen) (4) 
1-1 Ragnar Sigurdsson (6) 
1-2 Kolbein Sigthorsson (18)

Thanks Wayne Rooney

I just saw that Wayne Rooney has played his last match for the England national team. I am not a fan of England, and not a fan of basically any club Mr. Rooney ever played for. Nevertheless, I am a fan of Mr. Rooney, and I just realized how many years I have been following this great man's career: since his debut in the Champions League against Fenerbahce, when I said I hoped he would be a great player, to when he lost his temper (and I had malaria), to some of his most incredible performances (against AC Milan, Manchester City, West Ham, etc.). He is perhaps not the best there ever was, but he is a great player who played with passion and who loved the game, and that is always worthy of respect, no matter what team you play for.
I know that is old-fashioned and that people who hate the teams he played for will always hate him; because football is hate. But as to me, I admire a solid and talented professional, and want to thank him for the years I followed him.

Premier League is on!

This evening I was speaking with a Chelsea fan who said that Conte should be fired because of their PL opening 2-3 defeat to Burnley. That is in my view a bit early: of course the manager is responsible, but Chelsea are still defending champions. They did look as if they were still on vacation though, against a Burnley team that of course was top motivated to play the champions.
There have been some great matches already: Arsenal and Leicester had a fireworks of goals when Arsenal won 4-3, and perhaps it is a prelude to the season for Liverpool in that defensive errors and a late goal only gave them 3-3 against Watford. The favourites for the title are in my view Manchester City; they have invested heavily, and I expect that Guardiola now understands how to pace his side in the most difficult league in the world. City opened with a 0-2 victory over Brighton.
Finally, one thing that made me particularly happy was to see good ole' Wayne Rooney score the winning goal for Everton in his debut against Stoke. 
And who is on top after one match? Newcomers Huddersfield opened with a solid 0-3 victory against Crystal Palace. I do not expect Huddersfield to remain on top though.

Wow Rooney!

If Manchester United is to recover in the Premier League their stars will need to lead the way. With Robbie Van Persie out for six weeks, much of the pressure falls on the great Wayne Rooney. Today he showed he can take the pressure when scoring both goals in Manchester United's away victory to West Ham. The first goal was spectacular: nearly from the halfway line he pounded the ball over the goalkeeper in a kick that takes the skills and confidence of a great player.
Wow!

Ukraine left out

After having recently travelled to the Euro 2012 in Ukraine I was hoping to see the friendly Ukranian fans continue in the tournament. This seemed so much more urgent after Poland left the tournament as the worst host nation ever. At least Ukraine won their opening match against Sweden, but after losing their second match to France they needed a good result against England.
On the other hand England, with a tie and a victory, could play more controlled, and with the return of Wayne Rooney expectations were surely high.
Ukraine played a good match, but it was indeed Wayne Rooney who scored the winner for England after a silly mistake by the Ukranian goalkeeper. That said, the real executioner for the Ukranians was none other than the referee. Down 0-1 the Ukranians put pressure on the English, and scored a goal that clearly went over the line, but that was not allowed by the referee.
A very poor call.
Maybe England says that this is payback for the goal they had disallowed against Germany in the 2008 World Cup, but Ukraine did not deserve this payback for something they had no influence on.
A pity for Ukraine.
England ended up winning the group with two victories and a tie after a pathetic French side lost 2-0 to Sweden. This is quite impressive considering that England has not played well, but has been efficient and lucky. They will now face Italy, but should not be discounted. In fact, I believe this may be England's year.

The city of goals

The city of Manchester has two of the best teams in the world, and with a spectacular start of the Premier League (surely the best league in the world), both teams have become candidates for the title.
On one side, Manchester City has invested heavily into building its new team, and that seems to be bearing fruits: today they played Tottenham, and with spectacular four goals by Edin Dzeko, as well as one great goal by Kun Agüero, the 5-1 victory should be a warning to everyone that Manchester City is going for the top.
The defending champions of Manchester United today had their big derby against the rivals of Arsenal. Arsenal is bound to be struggling this season, considering the many players that they have lost, but today's absolute destruction of the London side was not to be expected. Manchester United were simply spectacular, and won 8-2. Wayne Rooney scored three goals, two of them on direct free kicks, while the new player Ashley Young, scored two spectacular goals in the rout on the Arsenal team, whose defense looked shaky to say the least.
14 goals for Manchester! I know in which city I would place my bets!

Out of this world

I had anxiously been expecting a great game in the Champions League final, which I watched in my new football-hangout in Caracas over a few Soleras. I was not disappointed, although it did not go exactly as I thought. That FC Barcelona was so superior to Manchester United was surprising, and nobody can say that their 3-1 victory was undeserved. The Catalonians controlled the ball superbly, and besides an outstanding Wayne Rooney goal, Manchester United's players were all but invisible. One can say a lot of things about how much space the English defense gave players such as Xavi or Messi for some of the goals, but at the same time Barcelona are splendid in finding open spaces.
The great Sir Alex Ferguson, disappointed but graceful in defeat, immediately admitted that his team had lost to the best team in the world.

In the world? Many FC Barcelona players are out of this world, most notably Messi, and I really do not know what UEFA rules say about using extraterrestial life-forms on your team...

Yawn...

As I was at work, and leaving late, I recorded one match. I didn't know which one in fact, but I made sure I heard no results, and quickly put on the match as I came home.
Chelsea-Manchester United was a bore! Manchester United won 0-1 on a Wayne Rooney goal, and will probably make it to the semifinal, but the most notable thing about the match was how lousy Chelsea played, and Ancelotti's very strange insistence on keeping a toothless little boy called Torres on the pitch, instead of what would seem like a deadly striking force in Drogba and Anelka.
It turned out the other match, between FC Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk was much more interesting! Shakhtar Donetsk are usually outstanding at home, so it was important for Barcelona to pull a solid result before going to Ukraine. And indeed they did with a 5-1 victory. No matter how good Shakhtar are at home, it looks like Barcelona and Real Madrid will be facing each other in the CL semifinal. In fact, they will be likely facing one another for a period of ten days in all-crucial matches!

Goal of the season

There is something special about Manchester United versus Manchester City this season, as the latter has invested heavily on a long list of excellent players. I must admit that I felt great sympathy with City today, with outstanding players such as Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Touré, David Silva and Shawn Wright-Phillips. But what took the day was another extraordinary player from the opposite team, Manchester United. Wayne Rooney scored the Reds' winner one an extraordinary bycicle kick; one of those goals that makes football best. The balance, vision, power and technique from Mr. Rooney is simply perfect.
2-1 to Manchester United and magic from Wayne Rooney.

Euro 2012 qualifiers

With the World Cup barely over and the European leagues starting up, a new football tournament to look forward to started up this week, namely the Euro 2012, that will take place in Poland and Ukraine.
I was sitting in my office, quietly listening to the radio while working, and following all matches on the internet. Time difference is a bummer....
Listening to Denmark's match against Iceland, I was getting increasingly nervous, but fortunately Thomas Kahlenberg scored for Denmark in the last seconds of the match, giving Denmark an important start in Group H. Denmark's group is for now led by Norway, who defeated Portugal 1-0. The Portuguese favourites, again falling into the trap of their own arrogance and cheasy haircuts have started very badly with a 4-4 match against Cyprus and today's defeat to Norway.
England is looking to renew its team after the World Cup mishap, and a 3-1 away victory to the strong defensive Swiss is an important step. Perhaps the best was that Wayne Rooney scored; he has been the victim of the media slander of his personal life over the last week, but with his goal today he proved to people like myself, who really only care about his football, that he remains a great footballer.
Another nation looking to rise again is France, who started badly with a 0-1 defeat to Bielorrussia. However, today they won 2-0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina on goals by Karim Benzema and Florent Malouda, and should remain favourites to win Grouo D.
Germany have started strongly with two victories in group A, which will have some exciting matches including Austria, Turkey and Belgium. The last two played a very exciting match in Istambul, which the Turks won 3-2,
In group Scotland has taken the lead with 4 points in two matches, after defeating Liechtenstein 2-1 on a last-minute goal. Not overly impressed, and it remains likely that Spain, with 3 points for one match, will cruise through to win this group.

How about Olympique Lyon and Wayne Rooney?

I have always liked Olympique Lyon, and over the last years I have always thought that they would get closer to glory in the Champions League, but so far wrongly. Now the team is surely not what they used to be: the did not win last season's French championship, and are currently only 4th in the French league. So it would seem that their chances against mighty Real Madrid in the first round of the CL play-offs was meager. However, last night Lyon outplayed the Spaniards, and if anything, the 1-0 victory is only too fragile before they go on to play in Madrid. Also, the victory is surely a merit to Lyon's skills and fight, but on the other hand, the Spaniards were poor to say the least, and in particular Kaká is running the danger of being a total flop.

In the other play-off match last night, mighty Manchester United played mighty AC Milan in San Siro, where they had never scored a goal. But things were to change, as United scored three, two of them by super Wayne Rooney who is surely emerging as perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment.
Manchester United won 3-2, thanks to Rooney, but also somewhat thanks to a well-playing Van der Saar and to good ole' luck. AC Milan, and in particular Ronaldinho as well as David Beckham (playing against his old club) played a great and offensive match, but the team missed way too many chances, and it now looks like the Milanese are heading out of the tournament.

England to South Africa

I was in London the day after England crushed Croatia 5-1 in Wembley, on two goals by Frank Lampard, two by Steven Gerrard and one by Wayne Rooney. The atmosphere was understandable ecstatic as England thus made sure that with wight consecutive victories in the World Cup qualifying Group 6, they are now sure to be going to South Africa.
England has been poor for the last tournaments, something that they should not considering the players they have; basically their coaches have been inept. However, this seems to have changed under the serious and disciplined Fabio Capello, who has really brought out the best of the English players, and has managed to calm the many egos. His strategy and organisation are outstanding.

This time it is not only exaggerated expectations by the English fans; this is really the first time ever that I consider England a serious candidate for the World Cup title (although I won't support them), and it will be exciting to see how they do next year.

Congratulations to England!

"It takes time to make a flower"

The English Premier League season started this weekend, and on BBC I heard an interview with David Ginola, who referring to Manchester City's massive investment in new players, nevertheless didn't believe that they would be fighting for the title this season: "It takes time to make a flower", he said poetically, and many other clubs that have invested massively in new players may want to listen!
Manchester City nevertheless started the season with an away victory against Blackburn, and I think that if anyone is going to challenge the big four, it has to be Manchester City, and I think it will be very exciting to see how they do with all the new big egos on their team.
After letting Ronaldo go to Real Madrid, Manchester United is not looking as awesone as the last three seasons, and they may have to fight more to retain their title. Wayne Rooney is one of the players that will have to take on a bigger role, and it started well with him scoring in their narrow 1-0 victory over Birmingham.
Chelsea is again looking to take the title, now with Carlo Ancelotti as coach. Their star Didier Drogba looks in great shape for the new season as he scored both goals in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Hull.
Liverpool missed many chances in their 1-2 away loss to Tottenham Hotspurs. Although Liverpool will surely end in the top four, I do not believe they will take the title: Liverpool is better as a cup team, and they will continue losing in matches that they should win.
Of the big four, Arsenal is perhaps the one that is less talked about as they have not bought many players. Still, they started this season strongly with a 6-1 away victory against an Everton side that should be stronger. Emmanuel Adebayor may be gone to Manchester City, and Arsenal may be lacking in quality strikers, this seems not to have affected them as the season gets underway!
I would certainly watch out for Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger is again building up a powerful young squad!

In any case, it is good to have some of the major leagues of Europe on the way!

Congratulations Chelsea

Congratulations to Chelsea, for their second Premier League title in a row. It also came with style: beating Manchester United 3-0. Although I am not impressed by the tactical and sometimes too boring game of the Londoners, it is always impressive when a team performs as they have done. They will stay at the top of Europe for a long time.
On a more serious note, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney fractured his foot. Now his appearance at the World Cup is in serious jeopardy. Bad for England (although I don't support them at all…), and bad for football fans. Wayne Rooney is a wonderful player, and I hope he will recover to make it.

Top-10 biggest football mistakes of 2005

2005 has been a year where many have brought negative attention upon themselves in the world of football. This is my top-10 list of the so-called "turds":

• 10) Referee Yoshida: The Japanese referee did not know the rules in the World Cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain. He annulled a penalty goal for Uzbekistan because a player ran onto the pitch. The game was cancelled, and in the end Bahrain qualified.

• 9) Gambia fans: The fans of Gambia also have the privilege of being on my cool-top-10, for exactly the same reason they are on this list: their stunt of faking an emergency landing in Peru, in order to make it to a match on time.

• 8) Jorge Fosatti: Uruguay did not qualify for the World Cup, and is a great football nation that will be missed in Germany. They lost their final play-off match against Australia. Before the play-off match, the Uruguayan coach Fosatti, had been very arrogant and had spoken lowly of the Australia team, only to be beaten on the pitch.

• 7) Abel Xavier: The Portuguese defender of Middelsborough was tested positive for doping in November, and he was suspended for 18 months.

• 6) Wayne Rooney: He is undoubtfully a wonderful player. But this year his temper has run off with him too many times, which has brought unwanted attention on him. First was his attack on David Beckham during the Northern Ireland-England World Cup qualifier, and then his foolish red card in the Manchester United-Villarreal Champions League match. It seems lately he has managed to control himself, so I hope he can avoid getting on this list next year!

• 5) Referee Robert Hoyser: This German referee brought forth the specter of corrupt referees in football. Scandals also emerged in Brazil, but what makes Mr. Hoyser special, is that he was sentenced to 2 years in prison because of his admitting to fixing nine matches. And this was in the country that will host next year's World Cup...

• 4) Turkish fans: A disgrace when Turkish fans showed themselves as bad losers, and threw many things at the Swiss players who had just beaten Turkey to qualify for the World Cup in Germany.

• 3) Turkish players: More pathetic that their own fans, were the players of the Turkish national team. When the game between Turkey and Switzerland ended, with Switzerland qualifying for the World Cup, the disappointment of the Turkish players turned into blind rage, and they were caught on camera attacking Swiss players. Turkey should be suspended.

• 2) Italian fans: Racism in football has continued growing this year. While last year it was the Spanish fans, this year it has been in Italy. The issue came to a high in November, when the Ivorian player of Messina, Zoro, was reduced to tears by Inter Milan's fans racist chants.

• 1) Paolo Di Canio: With racism being the scourge of football and European society nowadays, it is pathetic to see the captain of Lazio, one of Italy's leading clubs, do a facist salute to the openly racist fans whenever he scores a goal. He has been fined and suspended for it, but he says he will continue doing it.

The list has not been that difficult to do. Unfortunately, many have done stupid things this year. I hope there won't be that many in 2006!

Manchester United on the way out?

It has been a very bad season so far for Manchester United. They have been unable to keep pace with the top in the Premier League, they have also had problems with the performance of their talented players, and some have been tarnished by scandals on and off the pitch (for instance the recent dismissal of Roy Keane, or Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo).

Tonight ManU's problems have become even more critical. Their performance on the Champions League has been meagre, and after today's match against Villarreal, they will be forced to get points in a very difficult match against Benfica in Lisbon, if they want to stay in the tournament.

Manchester has 6 points on 3rd spot of the Champions League group D, the same as Lille. Manchester must win against Benfica to be certain to qualify to the next round. A tie will not be enough in case Villarreal does not win against Lille. So all the pressure is on Manchester.

Manchester United-Villarreal, Rooney and malaria

Wednesday I had planned to continue watching more Champions League football. But by late afternoon I was having chills and headache. It continued downhill, and fearing that I had the dreaded West African malaria, I went to have my blood tested. As I was in the hospital's waiting room, they did the favour to put Manchester United-Villarreal on (at least I was not totally lonely...). I had difficulty focusing on the match, but could see that it would be hard for Manchester.

Around half-time I was tested, and as the doctor came out to give me the "positive" result, I saw Wayne Rooney get his foolish red card. This did not make things easier for Manchester United, and they can thank their disciplined defence for pulling home a 0-0.

I have been a Rooney-fan since the Euro 2004. This admiration however, is limited to the football pitch, and it is a shame that Mr. Rooney carries his bad temper on to the pitch. There have by now been numerous examples of this; lately on the England national team, during their loss against Northern Ireland.

Mr. Rooney is a wonderful footballer. He has the potential of becoming one of the great ones. But if he does not learn to behave, to control his temper, he will become more a of risk to his teams, instead of the amazing asset he could be. I know that many people are trying to get this message through to him, and I hope Mr. Rooney will be wise enough to get the message. If not, football will have lost a great player.

As to the less relevant things (my malaria), I still feel like I have been run over by Jaap Stam, tackled by Roy Keane and hit my head against a goal-post...

Arsenal-Manchester United

The match was no disappointment! 2-4 to the Reds after an entertaining and intense game! The players were probably a bit too excited, and the attitudes shown by the two captains, Mr. Vieira and Mr. Keane, by not greeting one another before the match, was simply scandalous. How are fans supposed to behave when players incite such animosity!?
However, an excellent referee kept things well under control, and all cards were given deservedly, specially the one to a stupid Mr. Silvestre.

Now, as to the match, it was great: Denis Bergkamp was playing an incredible game, and it was truly a joy to see him back, specially for his 2-1 goal. The ever-threatening Wayne Rooney displayed good overview when passing the ball to Manchester's equalizer, while Cristiano Ronaldo was a dynamo. In the end, the speed and technique of the Portuguese youngster proved to be one of Manchester United's best weapons.
And that Manchester United has a good arsenal of young talents, was proven by the late goal by John O'Shea.

Manchester United now takes second spot in the Premier League. But still seven points behind Chelsea, it is becoming more and more probable that Chelsea will be champions.

My Top 10 favourite players of 2004

I have compiled a list of my very personal best top-10 players of 2004:

10) Ludovic Giuly: Also had an amazing season on the right midfield of Monaco, making it all the way to the Champions League final. This got him a deserved spot in the French national team, and later on the rising Barcelona team, where he has continued strongly.
9) Arjen Robben: The young Dutchman has impressed me all year, first at PSV Eindhoven, and more so after his change to Chelsea. He was also one of the best in the Dutch team in Euro 2004, although I thought he was not given enough playing time.
8) Roy Makaay: The Dutch striker has been one of the keys to success of this season's returning Bayern Munich side. He continues being as poisonous as a rattle-snake in front of the goal.
7) Xavi: In my view, the best Spanish player this year. In the renewed Barcelona side, he has managed to become the fighting mid-field general, who can make beautiful passes as well as score beautiful goals.
6) Samuel Eto'o: Has proven he is one of the world's leading strikers, especially after his change from Mallorca to Barcelona. In Barcelona, with his speed and technique, he has been amazing.
5) Frank Lampard: has been excellent in Chelsea and in the English national team. He is a very complete player, who scores important goals, puts up a spirited fight and organizes well the game. If he continues next season, he will be one of the foremost players of the Premier League, as well as in Europe.
4) Deco: What a season it must have been for Deco! Was simply the amazing centerpiece of the FC Porto side that won the Champions League. After that, he changed to Barcelona, where he has been an important contribution to the rise of the Catalonians. He did not have a very good Euro 2004 though; in spite of Portugal making it to the final, Deco did not show the strength he had shown in FC Porto.
3) Andrij Schevchenko: A world class striker, who continues bombarding the goals in the Italian league, one of the hardest for strikers in the world. With AC Milan he has also been very strong in the Champions League, and I believe that he will continue to be one of the main striking forces of Europe next year.
2) Wayne Rooney: I was simply amazed by Mr. Rooney during the Euro 2004, when his amazing tenacity brought him forth as a superstar. And I thought the expectations were too high for the youngster when changing from Everton to Manchester United. But I was wrong, which Mr. Rooney showed in his very first Champions League match against Fenerbahce, scoring three beauiful goals. I hope he continues.
1) Ronaldinho: Maybe I need not say so, as so many have said it already: but Mr. Ronaldinho is certainly also my favourite player of 2004.

It has actually been hard for me to make the list, as there have been many great
players this season, whom I could easily have included on this list, like Ruud Van Nistelrooi, Dellas, Paulo Ferreira, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Baraja... So many great players!

Super Wayne Rooney!

Great games in the Champions League Matchday 2 yesterday. But one player overshadowed all: Wayne Rooney was simply amazing in his debut in the Champions League. Three beautiful goals by the only 18-year old player. I had expressed some doubt at the expectations put on this young player, but he handles the pressure like a master, by scoring the goals. It is really seldom that one feels to have been witnessing the birth of a future super-star, but I feel Mr. Rooney is headed that way, if he can avoid injuries and other problems.
For the sake of football, I hope he continues this way. When he plays my favourite teams, I just hope he has an off-day...

Super Wayne Rooney!