Spain

IKER CASILLAS

The revelation

Iker Casillas is the best example of a new breed of Spanish footballer who can offer fine skills, experience at the highest level— and youth. He has so far also had all the luck, taking part in the 2002 World Cup only after becoming a late replacement for regular ’keeper Santiago Canizares.

Casillas is no beginner. He played no less than ten times for Spain before his 20th birthday and his baby face is a familiar sight behind the defence of perhaps the most distinguished club side in the world, Real Madrid.

In Real’s 2002 Champions League triumph against Bayer Leverkusen (2-1) he was heroic, coming on as a substitute and keeping the Germans at bay with at least two miraculous saves in the dying minutes of the game.

For Spain’s national coach Jose Antonio Camacho to consider leaving veteran Valencia campaigner Canizares on the bench in favour of a teenager is proof that there is something very special behind those boyish looks.

At first sight Casillas looked like a lad looking for the youth team who had taken the wrong entrance but he soon silenced intrigued fans with a string of exhilarating saves.

The Spaniard is blessed with natural, unerring judgement and innate ball skills which, combined with excellent technique, give his defenders the absolute re-assurance they need under pressure.

He made several vital reflex saves for Real Madrid during their triumphant 2000 Champions League campaign, especially against Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the later stages.

Coming after his contribution to Spain’s success at the under-20 World Championship in Nigeria in 2000, his brilliant performances at club level proved he had what it takes to perform at the very highest level and he was included in Spain's squad for the 2000 European Championship.

He will almost certainly remain Spain’s No. 1 following the freak accident that left his rival at national level Canizares cursing his luck. The Valencia No. 1 suffered the heartbreak of missing the tournament when he dropped a bottle of after-shave on his foot. The Madrid man seized his chance, making a string of heroic saves to put Spain into the last eight following a second-round shootout with Ireland.

RAUL GONZALEZ BLANCO

The prodigy

Long before the arrival of Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo and Beckham, Spanish prodigy Raul was justifying the price of an entrance ticket to see Real Madrid on his own. On October 29, 1994 Madrid coach Jorge Valdano gave him his debut, controversially dropping the then crowd favourite Emilio Butragueno, still just 29.Raul, 17 at the time, Madrid and Valdano have never looked back. He has since drawn plaudits from all the major figures in world football.

Raul is a genuine star. His goal-scoring has been instinctive right from the start and his first game must have produced an instantaneous thrill in the chairman’s box comparable to the discovery of a gold nugget in a pile of common rock. Raul scores a goal every two matches on average and is well on course to beat the Real Madrid all-time goal scoring (216 Liga goals set by Di Stefano) record well before he is 30.

Since Fernando Hierro retired from international football and left Madrid, Raul, at 26, has taken his captain’s armband for club and country. He has also beaten Hierro’s record for Spanish international goals, with years of play left in his priceless legs. He has also helped his team win three Champions League titles (the latest coming in 2002), two Intercontinental Cups and four Spanish championships.

Despite the usual hype, Raul (like Spain) was a shadow of himself at the 1998 World Cup in France. He also failed to inspire his teammates at the 2000 European Championship in Holland and Belgium, missing a vital penalty against the eventual winners, France, in their dramatic quarter-final encounter. But at the 2002 World Cup he finally hit top gear, scoring three goals as Spain raced into the second round. However he picked up an ankle injury during the thrilling win over Ireland that ruled him out of the quarter final loss to South Korea.

 

Greece

HEMISTOKLIS NIKOLAIDIS

Born goalscorer

Now on the wrong side of 30, but with over 40 international appearances, striker Themistoklis Nikolaidis is one of the veterans of the Greece team and a common source of goals as his country prepare for Euro 2004. He is equally a vital cog in Otto Rehhagel’s Greek wheel as the German coach puts his finishing touches on preparations for the much-anticipated tournament in Portugal.

Born in Giessen in West Germany in 1973, his family returned to Greece and he made his professional debut amidst the ranks of modest club Apollon Athens at the age of 20-years-old. Two years later in 1995, he was called up to the national team one year after the surprising qualification of Greece for the 1994 World Cup. A natural goalscorer, AEK Athens snapped him up and Nikolaidis went on to score an impressive 125 goals in 189 matches for the capital side. He was on the winning AEK team that won Greek Cups in 1997, 2000 and 2002 and was also joint top scorer with six goals in the Uefa Cup in 2001 despite AEK only reaching the round of 16.

He went into international wilderness between October, 1999 when Greece were eliminated from qualifying for Euro 2000 and October, 2001, but resurfaced when Rehhagel took the national post replacing Vassilios Daniil. To mark his return he even scored in the dramatic 2002 World Cup qualifier against England where although Greece were already eliminated, they gave Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side a scare before David Beckham rescued them with a late equaliser.

Although at international level, Nikolaidis was back on song, life was not so merry at AEK. He was at the center of a scandal involving club president Makis Psomiadis who eventually resigned for “threatening behaviour” although the club’s supporters were firmly behind their star striker.He married Greek pop singer Despina Vandis in June, 2003, and finally quit AEK for a move to Atletico Madrid who won the race for his signature ahead of Paris Saint Germain.

In the Spanish capital he has linked up with young prodigy Fernando Torres and the duo have formed an explosive pairing as they battle for popularity with the superstars of crosstown rivals Real.

 

Russia

ALEXANDER MOSTOVOI

The czar of Vigo

When Georgy Yartsev was called in to save Russia’s faltering Euro 2004 qualifying campaign he, in turn, recalled several veterans to the side. Amongst them was Alexander Mostovoi.

Though the Celta Vigo midfielder had already turned 35 he had lost little of his gifted touch and none of his vision for the game. Five matches later Russia had booked their ticket to Portugal with Mostovoi in central command even getting on the score sheet against group winners Switzerland some 13 years after making his international debut for the USSR in 1990.

He was born in Ostankinsky where he made his professional debut with Spartak, picking up two USSR championships in 1987 and 1989.

Mostovoi is a technically gifted player with brilliant passing skills from the middle of the park, from where he can regularily be seen dribbling into forward positions to add to his side’s firepower. His one handicap is the red mist that occasionnally blurs his vision and leads to frequent yellow cards and the odd sending off.His skills attracted Benfica, who signed him in 1992. Though he failed to settle in the Portuguese game, he did win the Cup with the Lisbon outfit before moving on to France for spells with Caen and Strasbourg.

He eventually found a home at Celta Vigo where he moved in 1996 and looks set to see out his career. He was joined in Galicia by Valery Karpin in 1997 and the two formed a creative midfield fulcrum that blossomed in the spectacular Spanish league with such elan that the supporters nicknamed Mostovoi ‘the Czar’.

The international field has yielded little joy although he has travelled to two World Cups. He played in just one match in 1994 and none at 2002, having injured a hip on the eve of the tournament. He did play in three matches at Euro ’96 but Russia went out in the first round. Euro 2004 then represents the last great adventure where it must be hoped his skills can ignite the Russian side to a run into the knock-out stages at least.

 

Portugal

DECO

Creative genius

The 2002-2003 season was an exceptionally good one for Porto’s Brazil-born midfielder Anderson Luis de Souza. Deco, as he is known, created two goals in his club’s 3-2 Uefa Cup final win over Celtic, was a wellspring of creative genius in their romp toward the Portuguese cup and championship, which they won by a mile, and scored a free-kick winner on his international debut for Portugal against, no less, Brazil.

Deco became a naturalised Portuguese on the advice of national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had led Brazil to World Cup victory in 2002 before joining Portugal in their run up to Euro 2004, where the midfielder looks set to play a leading role. He arrived at Benfica in Portugal as a 19-year-old in 1997 after stints with two minor Brazilian sides Nacional de Sao Paulo and Corinthians Alagoano.

The Lisbon outfit loaned him out to an affiliated second division club before selling him on to Porto in 1999. In the northern port city Deco’s playmaking talents were brought to the fore and he is now firmly established as a fans favourite.

Strangely for a Brazilian his idol was the great Argentine Diego Maradona, and Deco too is a classic number 10, his sense of creativity and magic touch allowing him to orchestrate the flowing Porto forward line. He will be approaching 27 when Euro 2004 kicks off and while Real Madrid’s Luis Figo is against Portugal fielding naturalised Brazilians, Scolari has unearthed a diamond in Deco.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

The new Beckham

After a pre-season friendly in August 2003 Manchester United’s players were so impressed with Sporting Lisbon’s 18-year-old winger they urged coach Alex Ferguson, who had been tracking him for four years, to sign him. His name is Cristiano Ronaldo and his 22.2 million euros ($20 million) move to Old Trafford was an immediate hit with the public. “It looks like the fans have a new hero,” Ferguson said of the player to whom he gave the freshly-departed David Beckham’s No. 7 shirt, one formerly filled by Eric Cantona and Bryan Robson.

His five year contract at United saw his wages leap from around 400 euros ($350) per week at Sporting to 40,000 euros ($35,000) per week at United. Another week on and the most expensive teenager in British football history was called up to the senior Portugal squad, making his debut on August 20, 2003 in a 1-0 win over Kazakhstan. Few are the men of his age playing in any top side but Cristiano Ronaldo reacted so well to the pressure at United he earned praise from his teammates, coach and the media thanks to consistently brilliant cameo performances.

Before joining United, Ronaldo had enjoyed just one season of top flight action with Sporting, making some 25 appearances in the 2002-03 season.

Born on Madeira Island in February 1985 his father called him Ronaldo due to his respect for the former American President Reagan. He played for two local clubs before Sporting whisked him to the capital at the age of 11. Despite his dizzying skills on the pitch he was at best an average student and had reported problems of aggression. In England he was also involved in a fight featuring several United and Arsenal players shortly after his arrival, though he escaped an FA ban.

He however claims to have experienced just two minor problems with his move from the deep south to the chilly north of England: “The biggest difficulty has been getting used to the weather and the food,” he complained. No problem, Ferguson, who is monitoring the youngster’s progress with an ever-watchful eye, sent him home for a three week holiday in January 2004. The break could provide Ronaldo with fresher legs during the Euro 2004 finals in his homeland where Portugal have been drawn in first round Group A along with Spain, Greece and Russia.

(AFP)