Post by Grey on Jul 5, 2004 12:55:16 GMT -5
Wayne Rooney, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard have all been named in the official Euro 2004 All Stars squad - and judge Gerard Houllier says the honours are well deserved.
As spokesman for UEFA's technical study group, Houllier had the job of announcing Greece's Theo Zagorakis as JVC UEFA Euro 2004 Player of the Tournament today.
But he also had good news for Rooney, Campbell, Cole and Lampard as they made the 23-strong All Stars squad of players who had impressed Europe's top coaches during the finals.
Houllier's fellow committee members in the UEFA technical study group included respected coaches such as former Scotland coach Andy Roxburgh, current Scots boss Bertie Vogts, ex-Blackburn man Roy Hodgson, Czech veteran Josef Venglos and Romanian Anghel Iordanescu.
And all were impressed by England's star quartet.
Houllier said: "Rooney was a revelation, all the technical study group were impressed with him and we discussed him a lot. I am close to the English game of course and I think he has a big, big future.
"Sol Campbell was a collossus and Ashley Cole was outstanding and I'm sure surprised a lot of people during the tournament.
"And Frank Lampard really emerged with three goals from midfield to prove he is a top-quality player."
Other Premiership stars in the list include Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy, Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg and Anfield's Milan Baros - who pipped Rooney to the Golden Shoe by scoring five goals to the England man's four.
Houllier said: "Milan scored five goals and I was very impressed with him. He was very unlucky at Liverpool last year because he broke his ankle and didn't come back until March.
"But maybe it worked in his favour because he looked a lot fresher than many other players. He had a fantastic tournament."
Despite Baros' success in front of goal, however, it was Greece captain Theo Zagorakis who was named player of the tournament. And Houllier is adamant the former Leicester man deserves it.
He said: "We think that he was consistent throughout the competition. He was man of the match in the opening game and man of the match in the final. You can't do much more than that. And as well as playing to a high standard he was influential as a captain and a leader."
Name
Petr Cech
Antonios Nikopolidis
Sol Campbell
Ashley Cole
Traianos Dellas
Olof Mellberg
Ricardo Carvalho
Georgios Seitaridis
Gianluca Zambrotta
Michael Ballack
Luís Figo
Frank Lampard
Maniche
Pavel Nedved
Theodoros Zagorakis
Zinedine Zidane
Milan Baroš
Angelos Charisteas
Henrik Larsson
Cristiano Ronaldo
Wayne Rooney
Jon Dahl Tomasson
Ruud van Nistelrooy
The EURO technical study group comprises eight members: Roy Hodgson, Gerard Houllier, Anghel Iordanescu, György Mezey, Holger Osieck, Jozef Venglos, Berti Vogts and Andy Roxburgh. Each of these cast one vote for the Player of the Tournament, and the ninth vote came from the fans vote.
As spokesman for UEFA's technical study group, Houllier had the job of announcing Greece's Theo Zagorakis as JVC UEFA Euro 2004 Player of the Tournament today.
But he also had good news for Rooney, Campbell, Cole and Lampard as they made the 23-strong All Stars squad of players who had impressed Europe's top coaches during the finals.
Houllier's fellow committee members in the UEFA technical study group included respected coaches such as former Scotland coach Andy Roxburgh, current Scots boss Bertie Vogts, ex-Blackburn man Roy Hodgson, Czech veteran Josef Venglos and Romanian Anghel Iordanescu.
And all were impressed by England's star quartet.
Houllier said: "Rooney was a revelation, all the technical study group were impressed with him and we discussed him a lot. I am close to the English game of course and I think he has a big, big future.
"Sol Campbell was a collossus and Ashley Cole was outstanding and I'm sure surprised a lot of people during the tournament.
"And Frank Lampard really emerged with three goals from midfield to prove he is a top-quality player."
Other Premiership stars in the list include Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy, Aston Villa's Olof Mellberg and Anfield's Milan Baros - who pipped Rooney to the Golden Shoe by scoring five goals to the England man's four.
Houllier said: "Milan scored five goals and I was very impressed with him. He was very unlucky at Liverpool last year because he broke his ankle and didn't come back until March.
"But maybe it worked in his favour because he looked a lot fresher than many other players. He had a fantastic tournament."
Despite Baros' success in front of goal, however, it was Greece captain Theo Zagorakis who was named player of the tournament. And Houllier is adamant the former Leicester man deserves it.
He said: "We think that he was consistent throughout the competition. He was man of the match in the opening game and man of the match in the final. You can't do much more than that. And as well as playing to a high standard he was influential as a captain and a leader."
The full 23-man squad in full:
Name
Position
Country
Petr Cech
Goalkeeper
Czech Republic
Antonios Nikopolidis
Goalkeeper
Greece
Sol Campbell
Defender
England
Ashley Cole
Defender
England
Traianos Dellas
Defender
Greece
Olof Mellberg
Defender
Sweden
Ricardo Carvalho
Defender
Portugal
Georgios Seitaridis
Defender
Greece
Gianluca Zambrotta
Defender
Italy
Michael Ballack
Midfield player
Germany
Luís Figo
Midfield player
Portugal
Frank Lampard
Midfield player
England
Maniche
Midfield player
Portugal
Pavel Nedved
Midfield player
Czech Republic
Theodoros Zagorakis
Midfield player
Greece
Zinedine Zidane
Midfield player
France
Milan Baroš
Forward
Czech Republic
Angelos Charisteas
Forward
Greece
Henrik Larsson
Forward
Sweden
Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward
Portugal
Wayne Rooney
Forward
England
Jon Dahl Tomasson
Forward
Denmark
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Forward
Netherlands
The EURO technical study group comprises eight members: Roy Hodgson, Gerard Houllier, Anghel Iordanescu, György Mezey, Holger Osieck, Jozef Venglos, Berti Vogts and Andy Roxburgh. Each of these cast one vote for the Player of the Tournament, and the ninth vote came from the fans vote.
