Unsung heroes, men who impressed but not lauded

Sometimes, success alone is not enough to become a popular footballer. Even though the Brazilian team at the 1970 World Cup had great footballers in all positions, the player who put everyone in the shade was Pele. Such was Pele’s transcending popularity that the stellar work of his teammates wasn’t appreciated adequately.

Likewise, a player can give his best in the colours of Barcelona but people will only talk about Lionel Messi in the end. In a few cases, people never warm to the performances of teams that they think only make up the numbers. There are quite a few unsung heroes at Euro 2012 and we argue their cases below. Dimitris Salpingidis: Few might have heard about the Greek forward before the Euros. Salpingidis, however, made telling contributions on the field. The super sub turned the tide against Poland in the tournament opener. He scored his team’s opener before earning a penalty, which was subsequently wasted by the Greek captain Giorgos Karagounis. Salpingidis was at it again in the quarterfinal against Germany. Michael Krohn-Dehli: Not many fans will remember Krohn-Dehli’s name but the Dutch will never forget the Danish journeyman. Krohn-Dehli paved the way for the early demise of the Netherlands by scoring the winner in their Group B match. The Dane had the cheek to nutmeg the Dutch goalie for his well-taken goal. Krohn-Dehli scored again in Denmark’s final group match against Germany. Riccardo Montolivo: An injury to Thiago Motta opened the doors for him and he grabbed his chance. Montolivo was outstanding against England in the quarterfinal and he was in an even better form in the Germany match by setting up Mario Balotelli’s second goal with a sublime 40yard pass from the left. Joao Moutinho: One of the best players of Portugal’s Euro 2012 campaign, the attacking midfielder played his heart out throughout. An able tackler and a fine passer, Moutinho created his team’s winner against the Czech Republic. It is a pity that all analyses of Portugal started and ended with Cristiano Ronaldo. Joe Hart: Touted as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in world football, Hart acquitted himself admirably in his first major tournament. Even Gigi Buffon holds him in high regard. Hart had a fine match against Croatia but the guy who usurped all the headlines was a rather disappointing Wayne Rooney. The reason: Rooney returned to action after serving a two-match suspension — necessitated by his stupid action in the qualifiers — and scored a tap in from two yards!