Tuesday 16 June 2015 21:56, UK
We look at the stars who’ve been player of the tournament at a European Under-21 Championship.
It’s easy to wonder just how much of indicator of future success glory at an Under-21 tournament can really be.
But one look at the past winners of UEFA’s Golden Player award at the European Under-21 Championship suggests that the talent of some of the game’s greats was obvious at an early age…
Luis Figo (1994)
Having been part of Portugal’s World Youth Championship winners in 1991 and made his senior international debut almost three years prior to the ’94 tournament, Figo was already a bona fide star in his homeland and his performances at that year’s European Under-21 Championship merely sealed the deal. He played both legs as Portugal crushed Poland in the quarter-final but just as was to prove the case in the senior version of the Euros 10 years on, there was to be disappointment in the final – beaten 1-0 after extra-time by Italy. Figo was named best player nevertheless.
Fabio Cannavaro (1996)
The Italian central defender had already won the competition in 1994 when he returned to help retain the trophy for his country in 1996. Scouts might have still been hoping for a growth spurt but Cannavaro simply didn’t need one. A regular in the Parma defence by this point, Cannavaro helped Italy to a quarter-final win over Portugal before sitting out the semi-final against France. He returned to see off Spain in the final, partnering Alessandro Nesta at the back in a union that foreshadowed their World Cup win together a decade later, and was named player of the tournament.
Andrea Pirlo (2000)
In a sign of things to come, Andrea Pirlo scored a penalty against England at the 2000 European Under-21 Championship – just as he was to do for the senior side 12 years on. But the tournament was not without its low points for the then Inter midfielder as he was sent off against Slovakia and thus missed the final group game against Turkey. But Pirlo was back for the final, where his brace – a penalty and a free-kick - against the Czechs won the game for his country and secured his status as tournament top scorer and the Golden Player award.
Petr Cech (2002)
Cech was still at Sparta Prague when he starred in the Czech Republic’s European Under-21 Championship win in Switzerland in the summer of 2002. He’d impressed throughout the tournament but it’s his performance in the final that earned the goalkeeper his Golden Player award. After keeping out everything France threw at him for 120 minutes, Cech saved twice in the shootout to win his team the trophy. “They had a great goalkeeper, great not only in size but also in the way he played, and that made the difference,” said France coach Raymond Domenech.
Juan Mata (2011)
Mata went into the 2011 European Under-21 Championship in Denmark with a considerable reputation having been part of Spain’s World Cup winning squad the previous summer. He lived up to the hype with a series of stunning displays from his two assists in the opening game against the Czech Republic to his brace against Ukraine in Spain’s must-win final group game. Switzerland were beaten in the final with Mata again to the fore and he was duly crowned as the tournament’s best player as well as the third-highest goalscorer. A move to Chelsea followed later that summer.
