2015 Under-21 EURO Player of the Tournament: William Carvalho
Friday, July 10, 2015
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William Carvalho's role in getting Portugal to the final was peerless.
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William Carvalho arrived in the Czech Republic with a growing reputation matched only by the responsibility on his shoulders.
Despite coming into the tournament off the back of a season in which he had already played more than 50 times and become a regular senior international, he was quick to declare his motivation.
"When you represent your country, it doesn't matter how many games you played in a season or at what level you do it," said the Angolan-born midfielder soon after linking up with Rui Jorge's squad in Otrokovice. "You don't feel tired or discouraged. I couldn't be more honoured or motivated to be here."
William's imposing figure and shrewdness on the ball were quickly to the fore in Portugal's opening 1-0 victory against England. He seemed to raise the bar by the minute, with both Italy and Sweden struggling to cope with his control and composure, not to mention the relentless drive that meant he covered more ground than any other player in the group stage. He was also particularly influential in providing cover to allow the more creative Bernardo Silva and Ivan Cavaleiro to wreak havoc going forward.
William's performance reached a new high in the highly-anticipated semi-final against Germany. The prospect of facing Liverpool's Emre Can and Bayern München-bound Joshua Kimmich may have unnerved some, but for a player who already had 13 caps to his name it was merely an invitation to assert his authority.
The image of William, cool as ice, sending his adversaries scattering while launching attack after attack will remain etched on the minds of all those watching Portugal's remarkable 5-0 victory that day.
William picked up from where he left off in the early stages of the final against Sweden but Portugal did not make their superiority tell and eventually succumbed on penalties, their star midfielder the unfortunate one to miss the decisive spot kick. A mark of the man, however, was that he was gracious in defeat and quick to try to lift his team-mates in their darkest hour. The mark of a real champion.