The Best XI at Euro 2008?

Here’s an interesting concept, what if a best eleven wasn’t picked on reputation but entirely on statistics? That’s the the idea behind the Castrol Performance Index, which we’d be able to take a lot more seriously of it wasn’t sponsored by a lubricant. Still it makes for interesting reading. The mathamagicians working on the CPI have collected data on players from every team competing at Euro 2008 to see how they fared in qualifying and in recent friendlies. Based purely on recent statistics, here’s their Best XI of Euro 2008 bound players:

GK: Gregory Coupet (France)
RB: Gabriel Tamas (Romania)
CB: Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Greece)
CB: Dorin Goian (Romania)
LB: Juan Capdevila (Spain)
RM: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Russia)
CM: Xavi Hernandez (Spain)
CM: Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic)
LM: Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
CF: Eduardo (Croatia)
CF: Luca Toni (Italy)

Interesting to see some less famous names, but you can’t argue with Romania’s qualification record. Plus it’s reassuring to know that certain big name players like Luca Toni, Xavi, Rosicky and Sneijder have the stats to back their reputations. The team also changes according to formation so you can see the best eleven for a 4-5-1 or a 3-5-2 etc, which is a neat concept.

Go visit the site for a full explanation of how this was all worked out, and an awkward looking picture of Arsene Wenger (who’s definitely more comfortable coaching than he is pushing product.)

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