Bayern Munich at Euro 2012: The German contingent promised much but fell short

The custodian had been his usual confident self in-between the sticks for Germany in the group stages, as his command over his box and clear communication with his defense, lessens the chances of an error occuring. While he really couldn't be blamed for any of the goals conceded except maybe Mario Balotelli's first in the semifinal, but it still reads as more goals conceded than appearances made for one of the better modern day keepers.

Boateng filled in for Germany in their problematic right back slot and though he likes to play as a centre-back. Considering that he had hardly been imperious in central defense for Bayern Munich this season, the defender could perhaps go much further if he plays more as a wing-back. The German was suspended for the third game, after picking up a two yellow cards in the first two. However, he seemed strangely poor out of the group stages, his error-strewn appearances ultimately costing Germany. He was largely ineffective against the Italians and had conceded a penalty to the Greeks in the quarterfinals.

The wing-back, who played on the left flank for his country, had been commanding as a captain. Perhaps one of the best fullbacks defensively, Lahm was an equally dangerous threat in attack and that is what makes him one of the most complete wingbacks of the modern era, as seen in the encounters of the “Group of Death”, shutting off any player who came down his wing. He put in his shifts as always in the quarters and semis, but let both Salpingidis and Balotelli get away from him to disastrous consequences. He had scored a spectacular goal against the Greeks to open the floodgates in the quartefinals.

Badstuber formed a very stable and solid defensive partnership with Mats Hummels at the back for Germany, solving one of the major headaches Die Mannschaft faced heading into the competition. Badstuber acted as the covering defender to cater to Hummels' more adventurous streak. He was a far more mature player than at the 2010 World Cup, and his calm temperament marks him out as a possible successor to Lahm as the captain of the national side. A decent performer throughout, it was the collective defensive mistakes that saw Germany crash out in the semis.

The Frenchman had been the heartbeat of his national side, keeping things ticking along nicely in midfield and providing plenty of width, pace and creativity down either wing. He linked up well with Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema, though the Bayern Munich winger would have liked to get on the score sheet. The former Marseille player had a forgettable outing against Sweden, and again against Spain with France crashing out, leading to questions about his ability to perform at the international level.

The Croatian did not play a major part in his country’s campaign, as Slaven Bilic left him on the sidelines for the first tie against Republic of Ireland, and he only came off the bench against Italy before finally getting to start against Spain. The Bayern Munich player showed his creativity and neat usage of the ball against the reigning champions.

There were doubts about whether Schweinsteiger will be at his best at the Euros, as he was not in the best physical form as the tournament approached, and mentally was still recovering from the damaging loss to Chelsea in the Champions League final. While he was untouchable in the group, his ankle kept worrying him through the quarter-final against Greece and he failed quite miserably to make any telling contribution in the semi-final against Italy.

Schweinsteiger’s deputy in the national team had been consigned to short cameos off the bench for Germany, with his senior club-mate in great form, meaning Kroos had to be content with appearances as a substitute till the semis. There, Joachim Low's included him in the starting XI in order to nullify the offensive threat of Daniele de Rossi and Andrea Pirlo. However the move flopped as Kroos found himself in an unconfortable role and wasn't effective one bit.

Andriy Shevchenko stole the 3 time Ukranian player of the year’s thunder during the Euros, as he turned back the clock in the win against Sweden. However the Bayern Munich midfielder held his own in midfield and provided cover to a largely inexperienced defense, while also providing a solid platform for the more creative players to flourish on.

Having risen to prominence during the World Cup as an attacking player of promise, Muller had an underwhelming season for Bayern last term, and was hardly near his best this Euro, though he hadn’t allowed that from affect his work-rate. He was resigned to injecting some pace into the German attack as a second half substitute in the knockout stages though.

To give an example of how lethal Gomez was in the group stages, the German had 4 shots on goal and scored with three of them! For years the targetman has been an enigma for the national side, failing to bring his club form onto the national scene. However Miroslav Klose’s lack of match fitness handed him the chance to cement his place in the team but was relegated to the bench for his fellow striker before making a second half substitute appearance against the Greeks. He was alarmingly disappointing against Italy and was hauled off at half-time for Klose.