Euro 2012: Who To Look Out For

Platini, van Basten, Klinsmann, Zidane, Ronaldo, Maldini, Figo and Henry have all played in the Final of the European Championships. There will be players who'll be out to put themselves amongst those names in this year's Euro's..

Thirteen of the top twenty Nations in the World will be competing in Poland and Ukraine, so plenty of talent on display. Aside from the already established world-class players, here's a few who you might not be so familiar with and who I think could do well..

Igor Akinfeev - Goalkeeper (Russia) 

The Russian stopper who has over fifty caps to his name, impressive as he's only 26. Akinfeev has been linked to Arsenal and Chelsea in recent times, but a transfer would appear unlikely as he's ruled himself out of a move away (not surprising seeing as he's been at CSKA Moscow since the age of 5), as well as Petr Cech signing a new contract. Here's a great reaction save from Russia's number one.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos - Defence (Greece)

A young Greek defender who helped Schalke 04 to a 3rd place finish in the Bundesliga this season. Having turned 20 earlier this year, he's managed eight caps for Greece, along with three goals (the latest coming in a 1-0 away win vs. Armenia in a warm-up fixture). Good going for a centre half, especially as internationally, managers tend to go with more experienced defenders.

Mats Hummels - Defence (Germany)

Another centre half from the Bundesliga. He has accumulated almost 100 appearances for Borussia Dortmund and is only 23. His side won the Bundesliga this year, keeping the attacking prowess such as; Gomez, Huntelaar, Pizarro and Podolski at bay. For all the attacking threat the German National team have, their side needs stability in defence, so with Neuer behind him and Khedira and Schweinsteiger protecting him, Hummels has great back up.

Christian Eriksen - Midfield (Denmark) 

With Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Mesut Ozil of Germany and Wesley Sneijder of Holland being in the same group, a playmaker for the Danish comes courtesy of Eriksen. Rumours of a move to Arsenal and Manchester Utd have been spoken of, and a good showing this summer could spark interest from even more of Europe's biggest clubs. He won the Eredivisie with Ajax this season getting seventeen assists and seven goals from thirty three appearances. It appears he has good skills too!





Marco Reus - Midfield (Germany)

Eighteen goals and nine assists in thirty two Bundesliga appearances. The 23 year old has had a great season with Monchengladbach, who managed to finish fourth. Reus won't be with them for next seasons European campaign, as at the start of 2012 the youngster signed a contract with current champions, Dortmund. Although Ozil, Muller and Podolski look to be ahead of him in the pecking order, he'll be sure to make the most of his time on the pitch. Here's the standout goal from the season just gone!

Robert Lewandowski - Forward (Poland)

The Polish International has scored 29 goals in 40 appearances for Borussia Dortmund in domestic competitions, finishing 3rd top scorer behind goal machines Huntelaar and Gomez in the Bundesliga. With Russia, Czech Republic and Greece in the same group, the co-hosts will fancy their chances of progressing. Especially as their top striker scores goals like this in their 4-0 friendly win vs. Andorra.





Olivier Giroud - Forward (France)

Ligue 1's top scorer as he fired Montpellier to the title. He may not be guaranteed to start every game seeing as Karim Benzema is in the squad, but you can bet when he gets game time, he will give defenders trouble and be a real nuisance. Just as France were losing 2-1 to Iceland, on the hour mark Giroud came on and got two assists to help his team to victory. His chemistry with Ribery could influence Laurent Blanc's decision.