All-time EURO 11: who deserves a place?
Monday, May 30, 2016
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The All-time EURO 11 currently comprises three Italians, two Frenchmen, two Spaniards, two Germans, one Dutchman and a Portuguese. Will one of your heroes miss out?
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With three million votes cast already, the All-time EURO 11 is taking shape, but there is still time to force a late substitution or two – and win a quarter-final ticket and a chance to train with two EURO winners.
The final team will be revealed ahead of the tournament, with the winning players to be immortalised in spray paint in Paris.
The criteria for the 50 players shortlisted did not specify that they must have won the competition, and at the moment there are five players in line for a starting place who do not have EURO winners' medals. Of the six former EURO winners, meanwhile, only one picked up their medal earlier than UEFA EURO 2000.
That provisional lineup features three Italians, two Germans, two Spaniards, two Frenchmen, one Dutchman and a Portuguese. It does not take a genius to work out, therefore, that Denmark's 1992 hero Peter Schmeichel, for example, will need a push if he is to be forced into contention.
Romantics might also note that the Greece team that won UEFA EURO 2004 and Czechoslovakia's heroes of 1976 remain outsiders for success.
If all this sounds like a terrible injustice, remember: the All-time EURO 11 is footballing democracy in action. If you have not voted, you forfeit your right to complain.
Vote now, share your choices on social media – make a difference