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Who was the best player at Euro 2008?

By YPB Team

Spain's passing machine supplies most of the contenders, but Russia's breakout stars, Turkey's comeback specialists and a handful of beaten finalists all have a case. Some shone for three weeks; others were already legends.

  1. David Villa — ranked #11
    David Villa
    Spain striker who won the Golden Boot with four goals, including a hat-trick against Russia.
    1000pts
  2. Xavi — ranked #22
    Xavi
    Spain's midfield metronome, named UEFA player of the tournament as Spain won the title.
    918pts
  3. Carles Puyol — ranked #33
    Carles Puyol
    Spain centre-back who led a defence that conceded only three goals.
    560pts
  4. Miroslav Klose — ranked #44
    Miroslav Klose
    Germany striker who scored in the quarter-final and semi-final.
    560pts
  5. Marcos Senna — ranked #55
    Marcos Senna
    Spain's holding midfielder who shielded the defence throughout the title run.
    508pts
  6. Yuri Zhirkov — ranked #66
    Yuri Zhirkov
    Russia left-back whose surging runs earned him a team of the tournament spot.
    508pts
  7. Gianluigi Buffon — ranked #77
    Gianluigi Buffon
    Italy goalkeeper who saved a penalty against Romania and was named in the team of the tournament.
    508pts
  8. Philipp Lahm — ranked #88
    Philipp Lahm
    Germany full-back who scored the late semi-final winner against Turkey.
    448pts
  9. Andrés Iniesta — ranked #99
    Andrés Iniesta
    Creative Spain midfielder named in the team of the tournament.
    448pts
  10. Ruud van Nistelrooy — ranked #1010
    Ruud van Nistelrooy
    Netherlands striker who scored the opener against Italy and a late equaliser against Russia.
    448pts
  11. Konstantin Zyryanov — ranked #1111
    Konstantin Zyryanov
    Russia midfielder named in the team of the tournament.
    448pts
  12. Luka Modrić — ranked #1212
    Luka Modrić
    Croatia playmaker who drove his side to three group wins including a victory over Germany.
    448pts
  13. Fernando Torres — ranked #1313
    Fernando Torres
    Scored the winning goal for Spain in the final against Germany in Vienna.
    448pts
  14. Bastian Schweinsteiger — ranked #1414
    Bastian Schweinsteiger
    Germany midfielder who scored against Portugal and Turkey in the knockout rounds.
    448pts
  15. Carlos Marchena — ranked #1515
    Carlos Marchena
    Spain centre-back named in the team of the tournament.
    379pts
  16. Andrey Arshavin — ranked #1616
    Andrey Arshavin
    Russia forward who dazzled against the Netherlands and Sweden on the way to the semi-finals.
    379pts
  17. Michael Ballack — ranked #1717
    Michael Ballack
    Germany captain who scored the winning free kick against Austria and led his side to the final.
    379pts
  18. Wesley Sneijder — ranked #1818
    Wesley Sneijder
    Netherlands playmaker who scored a stunning goal in the 3-0 win over Italy.
    299pts
  19. Edwin van der Sar — ranked #1919
    Edwin van der Sar
    Netherlands goalkeeper named in the team of the tournament.
    299pts
  20. Roman Pavlyuchenko — ranked #2020
    Roman Pavlyuchenko
    Russia striker who scored three goals including the opener in the semi-final run.
    299pts
  21. Nihat Kahveci — ranked #2121
    Nihat Kahveci
    Turkey forward who scored twice in the final minutes to complete the comeback against Czech Republic.
    299pts
  22. Iker Casillas — ranked #2222
    Iker Casillas
    Spain captain and goalkeeper who saved two penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out against Italy.
    299pts
  23. Sergio Ramos — ranked #2323
    Sergio Ramos
    Spain right-back who started every knockout match of the title run.
    299pts
  24. Hamit Altıntop — ranked #2424
    Hamit Altıntop
    Turkey midfielder who powered a run of dramatic comebacks to the semi-finals.
    299pts
  25. Arda Turan — ranked #2525
    Arda Turan
    Turkey winger who scored the injury-time winner against Switzerland and a last-gasp goal against Czech Republic.
    204pts
  26. Cesc Fàbregas — ranked #2626
    Cesc Fàbregas
    Spain midfielder who scored the decisive penalty against Italy and starred in the semi-final.
    204pts
  27. José Bosingwa — ranked #2727
    José Bosingwa
    Portugal right-back named in the team of the tournament.
    204pts
  28. Lukas Podolski — ranked #2828
    Lukas Podolski
    Germany forward who scored three goals, two of them against his native Poland.
    0pts
  29. Semih Şentürk — ranked #2929
    Semih Şentürk
    Turkey striker who scored late equalisers against Croatia and Germany.
    0pts

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