Uefa name Xavi Euro 2008 player of tournament
Xavi Hernandez (number eight) named Uefa's player of Euro 2008
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Monday, 30, Jun 2008 05:02
Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez has been named by Uefa's technical panel as the player of the tournament at the 2008 European Championships.
The Barcelona star was picked out by the governing body's team of experts as the outstanding player throughout the three-week event following his side's 1-0 victory over Germany in the final last night.
Xavi, who won his 63rd cap in the Vienna showpiece, played in five of his side's six matches - having been rested in the largely meaningless final group game against Greece - scoring once.
And Uefa said he had been given the award as player of the tournament for "his ability to dictate the pace of the game from midfield" and the way he "showed maturity and no small amount of brilliance in Austria and Switzerland".
Xavi was also named in Uefa's 23-man 'team of the tournament', alongside eight of his team-mates - underlining Spain's excellent form throughout the competition.
Golden boot winner David Villa was included along with his partner up front, and the scorer of the winning goal in the final, Fernando Torres.
Captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas; defenders Carlos Marchena and Cales Puyol; and midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta were also named.
The rest of the squad included three players from beaten finalists Germany, four from Russia, two each from the Netherlands and Portugal and a single player representing Turkey, Croatia and Italy.
Full Uefa Euro 2008 'team of the tournament':
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands).
Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Carlos Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Carles Puyol (Spain), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia).
Midfielders: Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Luka Modric (Croatia), Marcos Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernandez (Spain), Konstantin Zyryanov (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands).
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain).