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Why Thiago Alcantara Was the Star of the European Under-21 Championships
Published: June 18, 2013
The Spain captain and attacking midfielder used the final to give one final top-drawer showing, netting a perfect treble in the process—header, left foot, right foot.
That last display only served to underline his importance and his quality, and he was certainly the star of the tournament.
Controlling Matches and Spain's Tempo
A clear selling point for winning his place in the Spain side at any level, Thiago proved himself vastly capable of controlling games for his team with consistent, creative passing. The Barcelona midfielder was always available to recycle and retain possession in the middle of the park, but also rarely wasted a pass further forward.
His teammates clearly have the utmost confidence in his ability to distribute the ball well, always looking infield for the No. 10 shirt.
Much of Spain's forward movement goes through him, even with all the other attacking talent in the side.
It's easy to point to training and playing alongside the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta and saying that Thiago has the best grounding possible to play in this way, but his style and his ability are his alone. Thiago has the talent and has very much been able to harness it during the tournament, to the great benefit of his antion.
Ability in the Final Third
Only teammates Asier Illarammendi, Koke and Marc Bartra managed to complete a higher percentage of passes than Thiago, considering players who made at least two starts in the tournament.
During the entire Championships he started all five matches, missing just 10 minutes overall, and completed 93 percent of his 424 attempted passe...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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