Wayne Rooney would have been the front-runner for Euro 2004's player of the
tournament had he not been injured, according to Gerard Houllier, the former
Liverpool manager who is now a UEFA technical expert.
Everton's teenage striker was one of four England players in UEFA's all-star
squad - Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Sol Campbell were the others - with
victorious Greece captain Theo Zagorakis named the overall player of the
competition.
Former Liverpool manager Houllier said Rooney had made a deep impression on
the members of UEFA's technical group who chose the 23-man squad.
Houllier said: "It was unfortunate for Wayne Rooney because if he had not
been injured I think he might have won the main player award.
"He was a revelation, a very young promising player. He was excellent against
France, Switzerland and Croatia. It's just a shame that he then got the injury
against Portugal because he was such a big influence in the English team.
"He played in a very clever way, always dropping at the right time and
getting the ball. I think his link-up play between the midfield and Michael
(Owen) was very good."
UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh was also a huge admirer - but warned
that there dangers ahead for the 18-year-old.
"He was Roy of the Rovers here," Roxburgh told the Press Association. "He
was like a comic-book hero - everything he touched turned to gold.
"He's such a likeable guy too - so open, just a young boy enjoying every
moment.
"There are plenty of examples of shooting stars who just flash across the sky
and disappear, what's difficult is to appear early and stay at their top and
there is every sign that he will do so.
"It's always a big fear that the ones that come on the stage very early get
too much attention and too much money too soon. The players themselves have to
be aware of the dangers and they need really good people around them to support
them - and I know in David Moyes Wayne Rooney does have a very good person to
help him."
Greece had five players in the all-star squad, while England and beaten
finalists Portugal both had four. Previous champions France has just one -
Zinedine Zidane.
Houllier said former Leicester midfielder Zagorakis had played well throughout
the tournament.
He said: "We think he was consistently performing throughout the competition
and he won the man-of-the-match award himself in the first and last games of the
tournament.
"He played very well in the six games, he showed leadership qualities but he
was not just a very good captain but a very important player to the side, a
great personality. His skill and technical ability showed in every match -
against France it was he who beat Lizarazu and made a great cross.
"I know he played in England and apparently didn't make it but that happens -
they can still be very good players."
Houllier said Cole was "a revelation to some, he had a fantastic tournament"
while Roxburgh described Campbell "a colossus" while Lampard's three goals in
midfield "impressed us all - he's one of the new boys on the block".
Other Premiership players who also made the squad were Liverpool's Milan
Baros, the tournament's leading scorer with five goals for the Czech Republic,
Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Dutch striker Ruud
van Nistelrooy, Aston Villa's Swedish central defender Olof Mellberg and
Chelsea's new keeper Peter Cech of the Czech Republic.
Former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson also made it into the all-star squad
thanks to his four goals for Sweden.
Houllier, who dropped Baros from the Liverpool first team last season soon
after he returned from a broken ankle, said the Czech star had benefited from a
lack of action last season.
He said: "Milan was very unlucky to get injured with a broken ankle last
season and that's probably helped as he did not come back until March and it
looks as if it made him more fresh than the others.
"He's had his best form in this tournament. He's a very unexpected type of
centre-forward, he likes to run at defenders, he's strong and powerful with good
pace. He's not the finished article but I'm sure he will become greater.
"Just look at his goals record for the national team - he has scored nearly
20 in less than 30 caps."
UEFA Euro 2004 All-Star Squad:
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech - Czech Republic, Antonios Nikopolidis - Greece.
Defenders: Sol Campbell - England, Ashley Cole - England, Traianos Dellas -
Greece, Olof Mellberg - Sweden, Ricardo Carvalho - Portugal, Georgios Seitaridis
- Greece, Gianluca Zambrotta - Italy.
Midfielders: Michael Ballack - Germany, Luis Figo - Portugal, Frank Lampard -
England, Maniche - Portugal, Pavel Nedved - Czech Republic, Theodoros Zagorakis - Greece, Zinedine Zidane - France.
Strikers: Milan Baros - Czech Republic, Angelos Charisteas - Greece, Henrik
Larsson - Sweden, Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal, Wayne Rooney - England, Jon Dahl
Tomasson - Denmark, Ruud van Nistelrooy - Holland.
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