Euro 2020 is just around the corner and the excitement it generates is climbing to a fever pitch. Maybe, it is the air of novelty around the hosting of the tournament or the fact that it will mark the 60th anniversary of the tournament, but whatever it is, Euro 2020 is already creating ripples and giving goosebumps to football lovers the world over. There is the temptation to ask what the buzz is all about, but on second thoughts, one realizes that it is all about the football. Euro 2020 would be a fiesta of spellbinding football and the whole world quivers in feverish anticipation. It is also tempting to inquire how we know the football would be good and exciting. The answer to such a poser is to provide a sneak peek of the start performers who would raise the roof at the tournament.
Greats who lit up previous European Championships
The European Championships have always been a platform for showcasing some of the greatest players to have graced the game. In its 60 years history, it has played host to amazing individual star performers. Who would forget in a hurry Marco Van Basten’s devastating attacking displays at the 1988 Euros? Michel Platini’s magnificence came to the fore in 1984 where he struck 9 goals in 5 games to leave his indelible mark on the history of the tournament. Zidane’s masterclass in 2000 is still a reference point for taking a tournament by the scruff of the neck. Antonin Panenka’s iconic penalty in the shootout to win the 1976 tournament for Czechoslovakia has a spot in football’s folklore. Goalkeepers have also held their own in this storied tournament with Denmark’s Peter Schmeichel’s heroics propelling the Danes to victory in 1992.
Players to watch out for in Euro 2020
Robert Lewandowski: The Polish marksman is on fire at the moment, and Euro 2020 would be a fitting stage to achieve universal acclaim for his undoubted talent. Lewandowski is at the apogee of his powers with some breathtaking performances at club level for Bayern Munich this season. At international level, he has 60 goals in 111 internationals since making his debut for the Polish national team in 2008. Euro 2020 is just about to find out why this Polish hitman has four top scorer prizes (Torjagerkanone) in the German Bundesliga.
Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese superstar is a phenomenon and it is a testament to his amazing abilities that 16 years from his debut as a starry-eyed youngster in the 2004 tournament on home soil, he still remains a top billing for the tournament in 2020. His remarkable goal poaching ability has seen him score an incredible 99goals for Portugal and it seems the tally would lengthen at Euro 2020. Portugal are defending champions and any hopes of retaining the title would surely lie in the powerful boots of Ronaldo.
Virgil Van Dijk: Rarely has a country’s hopes in an international tournament rested on a central defender. However, Van Dijk is no ordinary defender and Dutch hopes would definitely be pinned on this colossus in defense. The 2019 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year would be leading the Orange Boys to Euro 2020 to reprise the heroics of the Dutch masters of 1988 who brought the trophy home. The Dutch team is really good this year and could be worth checking out new betting sites 2020 if you want to play on them. Their group is also fairly easy so it can they should be able to win the group.
Eden Hazard: The leader of Belgium’s golden generation has another chance to lead his talented cast to an international competition triumph at Euro 2020. Eden Hazard has been there and thereabouts whenever talk revolves around the best players in the world in the last couple of years. He has the chance to cement his place among footballing greats by seizing the Euros by the scruff of the neck when it serves off in 2020.
Serge Gnabry: The German has been in explosive form for both club and country of recent. His 10 goals in 12 internationals is the stuff of legends and Gnabry would be hoping to emerge from Euro 2020 as a German legend. His high octane play would surely light up the 2020 tournament.
Alvaro Morata: Spain’s tiki-taka might leave the impression that it could dispense with the role of the traditional forward. But, its successes at the 2008 and 2012 Euros have come with two accomplished centre forwards, Fernando Torres and David Villa being central. Alvaro Morata is inheriting that mantle and Euro 2020 is the perfect stage to prove worthy of the role.
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