Who are the best 11 players in the history of the European Championship? According to British media reports, a total of 3.5 million fans recently voted to choose the greatest starting lineup in the history of the European Championship.
The goalkeeper is Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon has participated in a total of four European Cups, the best result is the runner-up in the 2012 European Cup, and in 2004 and 2008 two consecutive years did not qualify for the group, in the 2016 European Championship in the 1/4 match, Italy was eliminated by Germany on penalties, so judging from Buffon's European Cup results, it is still very controversial to choose him as the best goalkeeper.
In terms of results, Buffon is not as good as the Spanish goalkeeper Casillas, San Cassie has won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships in a row, and it is worth mentioning that the opponent who defeated in the 2012 final was Buffon's Italian team, so if you only consider it from the European Cup, Cassie is actually better.
The defenders are Lahm, Puyol, Beckenbauer, Maldini
There is no disputing the selection of these four men, they are all captains of each team, but also the spiritual leader, Maldini's elegant performance in the defensive line has made him selected for the European Championship team three times, Lahm is not only good at defense, but also has a good ability to insert attack, his appearance has also changed the stereotype of many full-backs.
Puyol is the defensive leader of Spain's golden generation, compared to Ramos's heavy attack and light defense, Puyol is the absolute gate of Spain's defense, although he is not tall, but with excellent bounce, he has become a perfect central defender, as for the "football emperor" Beckenbauer needless to say, he is one of the greatest players in football, creating the role of a football libero, not only excellent defensive ability, but also offensive is his forte.
The midfielders are Zinedine Zidane, Andrea Pirlo, Iniesta
This list of midfielders has also caused some controversy, some fans believe that Beckham should be selected, after all, he is the greatest midfielder in England, and some fans said that Xavi and Platini should be selected, one of them is the midfield "brain" of Spain's golden generation, and the other almost single-handedly led the French team to the 1984 European Cup.
Beckham is an excellent player, but his results in the European Championship are still lackluster, and he has not reached the semi-finals, so it is completely normal not to be selected, compared to Beckham, Xavi and Platini should indeed be selected, should replace Pirlo and Iniesta, it is undeniable that they are good, they are the top midfield masters in history.
But Iniesta is not the core of the midfield of the Spanish team, the core is Xavi, and judging from the record of the European Championship alone, Platini is undoubtedly stronger than Pirlo, so on the whole, Pirlo and Iniesta should be replaced, as for Zidane's selection, there is no dispute.
The forwards are Cristiano Ronaldo, Van Basten and Thierry Henry
Ronaldo and Van Basten were selected without any dispute, Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in the European Cup, led Portugal in 2016 and won the first major championship in the history of the national team, Van Basten was the number one contributor to winning the 1988 European Cup, not only won the top scorer, but also created a miracle of "zero angle" goals!
Compared with these two, Henry's selection may be a little controversial, because like Griezmann, Schiller and Torres, they are also very good, especially Torres, who has also won the European Cup, so in the forward position, Henry's selection has indeed caused a certain amount of controversy!