European adventures for the European Champions

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Just two weeks after winning the biggest trophy in the club’s history, some of our players were back in action on the biggest International stage. Chelsea initially had nine players among the European squads, more than any other PL team, although only seven made it to the Euros.

1,2. Cahill and Lampard: Both picked up injuries in the week leading up to the Euros and, unfortunately, had to miss the action. From a Chelsea perspective, though, the pair could thankfully take a well-deserved rest; especially Garry who played the UCL final through a hamstring injury.

3. Cech: Started the Euros on the wrong foot by conceding four against Russia, though in fairness he could do little about any of the goals. The tough start turned into a nightmare for one of the best keepers in the world when he spilled an easy cross which was converted into the empty net by the delighted Greek forward. Luckily for Petr, the Czechs still ran out 2-1 winners. In the final match of group A, Big Pete put in a decent performance and managed to keep a clean sheet that would take his team to the quarter-final where, against an excellent Portugal side, he put in an inspiring world-class performance. Unfortunately this was not enough to keep his country in the Euros after he finally conceded a late Cristiano Ronaldo header. Overall, it was a tournament full of ups and downs for our favorite keeper; I’d give him 6/10.

4. Mata: Was an unused sub in all of his country’s four matches. The little genius could have provided the solution when his team seemed to lack answers at times, especially with some sub-par performances from Manchester City’s Silva. Yet our beloved number 10 has found himself stuck on the sidelines due to Del Bosque’s strategy of only using the same 14 players each match. Overall, a disappointing tournament for Juan so far, but his team has made it to the semis and he will be hoping to take part in Spain’s challenge for the title.

5. Torres: As expected, Fernando’s participation in the Euros has caused controversy among analyzers. First, his playing time has been limited by his boss’ ridiculous decision to play a “false nine” instead of an out-and-out striker; a strategy he started Spain’s first match against Italy with. Torres did get a chance in the last 15mins of the match, however some poor finishing from our #9 saw him miss a couple of opportunities to give his country all three points. In Spain’s second match, against Ireland, Torres was given a start. The Spaniard quickly seized the opportunity and scored two goals in a comfortable 4-0 win. His excellent performance was rewarded by another start versus Croatia, this time, however, El Nino and his fans were left in disappointment as he barely managed a few touches in the whole 60mins he was on the pitch. His team managed to get into the quarter finals as leaders of group C and was to face France. The match saw the return of the absurdity that is the false nine tactics by Spain. But Torres did manage to get 20mins of football; unfortunately, he decided to spend all of those minutes in an offside position.

Torres’ up-and-down performances inevitably caused an avalanche of extremely in-depth analysis sometimes to the verge of insanity. Despite being his team’s joint top scorer, Nando was heavily criticized for his sub-par performances in three of his teams’ four matches. This was attributed by some to Spain’s ‘tiki-taka’ style of play which keeps the ball in midfield and limits chances and passes to the striker while others insisted that he is still putting in the ‘work’ to justify his presence in the starting XI. But, with both his goals coming against Ireland, arguably the weak link in the tournament, the argument that El Nino only scores against ‘smaller’ teams still stands, and argument he will be looking to disprove when his team faces Portugal in the semi-final. Overall, I think the best word to describe Torres’ time with Spain in the Euros is ‘average’; he did manage to get a brace, but has not exactly set the world alight. I’d give him 6/10.

6. Malouda: After a few impressive performances in the friendlies preceding the Euros, expectations were high of the Frenchman. Those performances earned him a start in a central position in France’s opening match against England. Florent had a good game while his side settled for a draw. In the second match, manager Laurent “The Boss” Blanc, opted to change the formation and started Menez instead of Malouda. Our number 15 was an un-used substitute in that match. Florent found himself, once again, on the sidelines in France’s third group match; an abysmal performance by the French, however, saw him come on as a sub with 30mins to play. His performance was below average, much like all his teammates in that match. The quarter finals were tough on France with a match against the world champions and current title holders Spain. However, no one expected the absolutely terrible performance by the French who seemed to have given up before the match had started. Malouda started the match in a central role again with a defensive role. But like all the French players, he seemed to just lack the desire. All-in-all, it was a disappointing tournament for Malouda, just like his season at Chelsea. His rating is 5/10.

7. Meireles: Raul has always performed well with his national side which booked him a starting place in Portugal’s usual 4-3-3 alongside Moutinho and Veloso in the middle of the park. Portugal had been unfortunate to be in the “Death Group” B with the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. First up were the Germans, Portugal stuck to defending and parking the bus-Raul’s game. As expected, the thug-looking player performed the job that was asked of him on the field; it wasn’t enough as Portugal lost the match. Thus, they needed to compensate against Denmark and Holland. Meireles again had good performances in both matches by doing his defensive job and putting in the miles, not that there wasn’t the odd shockingly in accurate short pass from Raul. Portugal made it to the quarter finals to face Petr Cech’s Czech Republic. The saw Raul put in the best performance I’ve seen from the ex-Liverpool and Porto man in a long while. Outshining Veloso and the highly-rated Moutinho, Meireles managed pull the strings in midfield and show great vision in his passing. So far in the tournament Raul has been excellent, nowhere near world-class, but definitely performances I would like to see from him in a Chelsea shirt (at least he shaved that ferret on his head!). I’d give Raul a 7.5/10 rating.

8. Cole: After a remarkable season, Ashley joined a side that has been called the weakest English side in decades. Newly appointed manager, Roy Hodgson, (inspired by Chelsea some say) opted for a defensive style of play, relying on the counter attack. This meant that the team would concede possession and the back line, including Cole, would have to deal with enormous pressure. In all of his team’s four matches, Cole put in an excellent shift and a flawless performance. His contribution to the attack was quite impressive as well, proving once again that he remains the best left back in the world. The only downside to Cole’s tournament is that he missed the crucial penalty that saw his country eliminated in the quarterfinals (yet again on penalties) at the hands of the Italians. Cole gets an admirable 8/10 rating from me.

9. Terry: Last, but definitely not least, is our captain JT. After another controversial season, England’s ex-captain’s participation in the Euros was in doubt. But the controversial skipper was once again set to prove his critics wrong. He put in excellent performances in the first two matches that saw England pick up 4 points. However, the Chelsea legend was about to kick it up a notch. His heroics in England’s final group match, and one amazing goal-line clearance in particular, saw the three lions through to the quarter finals as he was man of the match (was officially given to Gerard, but come on!). In the quarter finals against a strong Italy team, Terry was instrumental yet again. His blocks, tackles and interceptions kept the score goalless as he was again clearly the best man in his team. Overall, England’s best player of the tournament, Terry never ceases to over-achieve when in doubt. John gets a 9/10 rating.

Three of our boys - Meireles, Mata and Torres - have made it to the semis, and with Spain playing Portugal, at least one of them will make it to the final. So, will we see a Chelsea player lift the cup?

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[Strike 7,183]

good roundup of the chelsea representatives at the euros

But

4. Mata: especially with some sub-par performances from Manchester City’s Silva.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

In his defence, he's right. Silva has been poor. It's all opinion though, remember.

Good article mate.

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

Terry

[bababoom 4,478]

Silva's been poor? i thought he's been one of spains better players.

[DavidLuizFan 23]

Great round up mate

[termninja 5,290]

Good article mate.

I expected more from Silva, but it's not easy from him when Del Bosque wants him to play like Messi and he doesn't have a striker to play a through ball to.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

If you look at his passing accuracy and his successful dribbles stats per match, it is no where near his stats at City. He also had some very poor finishing in the first two matches. But as Slam said, it's just my opinion.

BTW Thanks for the feedback guys.

[Strike 7,183]

If you look at his passing accuracy and his successful dribbles stats per match, it is no where near his stats at City. He also had some very poor finishing in the first two matches. But as Slam said, it's just my opinion.

BTW Thanks for the feedback guys.

fair enough. good article u should write more. this place needs articles more than anything else