With the European Championships on the horizon, bettor.com takes a look at the best possible rearguard selected from teams participating at the event
Goalkeeper
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Manuel-Neuer-c23424
Age: 26
Nationality: German
Club: Bayern Munich
The 6 ft four inch goalkeeper signed for Bayern Munich from archrivals Schalke 04 last summer amidst controversial circumstances. Upon his arrival, Bayern fans let the board know how they felt about the decision of signing a player who disrespected the legendary http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Oliver-c28477 Kahn a few years back.
However, Neuer has started winning over the same fans who crucified him from the stands upon his arrival.
Despite enduring a lot of hostility from his own fans, Neuer’s performances have been impeccable and he can now be considered as the undisputed number 1 for both the Bavarians and the Die Mannschaft. This season, the German international went on 1000 minutes without conceding a goal for Munich (and subsequently breaking Kahn's record) and played a big role in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904’s flawless Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
A lot should be expected of Neuer who is part of the German team that many suggest could possibly go on to win the Euros this time around.
Left-back
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809
Age: 31
Nationality: English
Club: http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786
The 31-year-old left-back is widely considered as one of the best and most consistent left-backs in Europe at the moment. Despite http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Everton-c39043 man has never reached the calibre of Cole whose defensive and attacking abilities would play a big role in how far England go in the competition under Roy Hodgson.
Centre-back
Holger Badstuber
Age: 23
Nationality: German
Club: Bayern Munich
The young defender first arrived at the national scene during the 2010 World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757. Though his performances weren’t that impressive initially, the Bayern Munich man has become a regular with the Bavarians and with the national side.
The youngster played all but one game of the qualification campaign as Germans went on to seal qualification for the Euros without losing a single game. Paired up with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mats-Hummels-c24767, it would be great to see two very different defenders with a great future.
Giorgio Chiellini
Age: 27
Nationality: Italian
Club: Juventus
Along with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giorgio-Chiellini-c14963 was part of the Juventus side that finished the Serie A campaign as the Invincibles and went on to lift the Scudetto for the first time in almost six years. After starting out as a left-back in the early stages of his career, the Italian has become one of the best central defenders in the world and would be looking to make sure that the Azzurri defence stays strong throughout the Euros.
Right-back
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mathieu-Debuchy-c24682
Age: 26
Nationality: French
Club: LOSC Lille
The LOSC Lille star in plain words, came out of nowhere and has become a man France national team manager, Laurent Blanc trusts a lot. Though he is still new to the national team setup, Debuchy has proven that he can be http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899’s first-choice right-back for a long time .
The Lille man made his debut in the 2-1 defeat to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Norway-c2974 and was then out of the radar for quite some time. However, in recent months, injuries to the likes of Bakary Sagna and Anthony Réveillère saw Debuchy return stronger than ever.
A great performance against the Germans in an international friendly and another injury to Sagna (who broke his leg), means that Debuchy will be a new attacking dimension for Les Bleus when they face http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 in their first group game of the Euros.
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