Football is a team sport, so we have been told. While it is indeed true, there are some teams that have one true star player who inspires them to move forward. One cannot win anything major without a well-balanced combination of XI players, yet there are some players who carry the whole burden of their teams on their able shoulders.
In our (my, rather) Chittagong-ian society, a family is called complete when it has a father, mother, son and a daughter. Yet, all the weight of responsibility to earn the bread falls on the hands of the father. Similarly, in some teams, there is a ‘father’ player that does the earning and keeps the team running.
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And it is no different on the international stage as well.
The Euro 2016 brings us some fine teams, from the sophisticated Spain to a brutally efficient Germany. It also brings us teams that are mostly inspired by one true standout player. And here are 5 such nations…
Wales
Arsenal fans might be a little annoyed with Wales’ inclusion because of Aaron Ramsey’s presence in the team, but let’s be a little realistic here: Gareth Bale is the only true stand-out player in the team. While the Arsenal midfielder is a great player himself, his luster is nowhere near the level of the Real Madrid star.
The fact that the Blancos splashed close to a 100 million Euros for the former Spurs star is a testament to his extraordinary skills as a footballer.
Also, in the qualifiers, Wales scored 11 goals—9 of which were directly contributed by the Real Madrid wizard via either goals or assists. Coming off the back of a good season with the Galacticos, winning the Champions League in the process, he has already started off his Euro campaign with a brilliant free-kick goal against Slovakia and, with the form he is in and the determination he has, there’s still plenty more to come.
Austria
They came into the tournament as somewhat of a dark horse after a brilliant run in the qualifiers. Indeed, with 27 points from a possible 30, they conjured up the most points in the qualifiers after England.
However, despite such a magnificent team effort, it can’t be denied that the Austrians have only one star man: David Alaba.
The Bayern Munich midfielder-cum-defender is one of the most talented players in the world and is certainly the best among the current crop of footballers that his country has produced. Comfortable both in midfield and defense, he is a highly versatile player who does a commendable job regardless of where he plays.
For Bayern, he played in the center of defense last season. And for his nation, he is a powerful box-to-box midfielder. His ability to be effective in multiple positions in itself makes him a standout player—the only that Austria have right now.
Slovakia
If you wanted the truest definition of a one-star man team, then look no further than Slovakia. With 11 assists and 6 goals for Napoli in Serie A, Marek Hamsik is the perhaps the greatest footballer Slovakia have ever produced.
While Martin Skrtel might be another big name in the team, age is beginning to get the better of him and he isn’t the defender that he once was.
Hamsik, on the other hand, is in the prime stage of his career. He has already shown his value for the Slovaks with a goal and an assist in his two Euro 2016 games—and he carries the qualification hopes of his nations on his small but strong shoulders.
Portugal
This was really apparent, wasn’t it? There was once a time when Portugal were filled with standout players like Rui Costa, Deco, Figo, et al, but now they find themselves in a situation where they have to rely on one man to shoot them to glory.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players the world has ever witnessed. If it weren’t for him, Lionel Messi would have had a free run in all individual awards competition of this era. And if it weren’t for the Argentine, the Portuguese would undoubtedly be labelled as the best of our time.
With 364 goals in 348 appearances for Real Madrid, coupled with 3 Ballon d’Or titles, he is the unprecedented king of Portuguese football—and the only true world class player in a generally lackluster team.
A draw against Iceland has put Portugal in somewhat of a sticky situation, and it will be up to the former United winger to get them out of it—removing the tag of a failure in the international scenario in the process.
Sweden
If you have read this far, you knew that Sweden was the only option left for the last berth. Sometimes, we get a vibe of a player being greater than a team, even though footballing ethos strictly suggest otherwise.
In the case of Sweden, this feeling amplifies beyond imagination, thanks to the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. With footballing ability as grand as his ego, he is Sweden’s greatest ever player and he makes sure that people acknowledge him as one.
Despite being 34 years old, he is still one of the best and most lethal strikers in the world—scoring 50 goals in all competition for PSG in the 2015-16 season, his personal best. It seems as though Zlatan ages like wine as he keeps getting better with time.
He is yet to replicate his brutal best with the country, but given the form he is in, this might just be the tournament.
