Harvey Elliott was named the best player of the Under-21 European Championship, scoring in the final as [**England retained the trophy with a 3-2 win over Germany**](https://www.football365.com/news/england-retain-euro-u21-title-harvey-elliott-lee-carsley-thomas-tuchel). The Liverpool midfielder joins some famous names that shone at the tournament in the past.
**Goalkeeper: Petr Cech**
A 20-year old Petr Cech gave notice to Europe’s top clubs that he was going to become one of the greatest No. 1s on the planet with his display for the Czech Republic in their 2002 triumph. A maiden victory in the competition for the Czechs saw Cech save two penalties in the shoot-out against France in the final. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming the Spanish ‘keeper who won the best player of the 1998 tournament.
**Right-back: Fabio Cannavaro
**A decade before his annus mirabilis of 2006 that saw him captain Italy to World Cup victory and win the Ballon d’Or, Fabio Cannavaro helped his country to a third consecutive Under-21 European Championship title. The Parma defender was named as the best player of a talented Azzurrini side coached by Cesare Maldini that also featured future legends Buffon, Nesta, Totti and Vieri.
**Centre-back: Laurent Blanc**
Like Cannavaro, Laurent Blanc went on to win the World Cup a decade after success in the Under-21 Euros, although the French defender famously missed the 1998 final on home soil following Slaven Bilic’s theatrics in the semis. In ’88, Blanc was named player of the tournament, with Les Bleuets knocking England out in the semis. Future Manchester United icon Eric Cantona scored three times against the Young Lions over two legs.
**Centre-back: Manolo Sanchis**
Two years before Cantona and co saw off England in the last four, Italy vanquished the Young Lions at the same stage in the 1986 tournament, though Gli Azzurrini lost out in the final to Spain. Young Real Madrid defender Manolo Sanchis was the star player, having already established himself in the first team at the Bernabeu, winning the first of his eight La Liga titles that year.
**Left-back: Anatoliy Demyanenko**
One of the finest left-backs in Europe throughout the eighties, Anatoliy Demyanenko would have moved to one of the continent’s top clubs if he played in the modern era, but the Ukrainian-born defender spent the majority of his career as the leader of a strong Dynamo Kiev team that won the 1986 Cup Winners’ Cup. He was named as the best player of the Under-21 Euros in 1980 as part of the victorious Soviet Union side.
**Right midfield: Luis Figo**
Amid a glorious career that saw him pick up numerous team and individual accolades, including the 2000 Ballon d’Or, Luis Figo’s international record proved to be the one disappointment. Portugal losing the 2004 Euros on home soil to underdogs Greece was of course the closest Figo came to glory, but it wasn’t the first time he picked up a silver medal with his national side. A decade earlier, the then Sporting midfielder was named player of the tournament in the Under-21 Euros, with holders Italy proving to be a hurdle too far in the final.
**Central midfield: Andrea Pirlo**
The same year as Figo was anointed the world’s best player, Andrea Pirlo starred in the Under-21 Euros to stake his claim as a potential future winner. The Italian maestro didn’t go on to replicate Figo’s Ballon d’Or success, but he did win the big one with his national side. World Cup glory in 2006 saw Pirlo emerge as Man of the Match in the final against France, six years after his two goals against the Czech Republic gifted Italy’s Under-21 side a fourth Euros title.
**Central midfield: Thiago**
As well as the senior side dominating the European and world stage from 2008 to 2012, the Under-21 Spanish players proved themselves as the team to beat at youth level. Success in the 2011 tournament was followed by La Rojita retaining their title two years later with new Bayern Munich signing Thiago named player of the tournament after scoring a hat-trick in the final against Italy.
**Left midfield: Juan Mata**
Thiago took the baton from Juan Mata, who was the golden boy of the Under-21 side in 2011 despite being part of the senior squad for the World Cup triumph a year earlier. Mata’s stellar performances prompted Chelsea to sign him from Valencia after he helped La Rojita see off Switzerland in the final in a side that also included future Manchester United team-mates David de Gea and Ander Herrera.
**Striker: Rudi Voller**
England’s latest Under-21 victory doesn’t mark the first time the Young Lions have defeated Germany in the final, with their maiden title in this competition back in 1982 also featuring a win over their Teutonic counterparts. Dave Sexton’s men won a two-legged affair 5-4 on aggregate, with player of the tournament Rudi Voller part of the defeated German side. Voller was part of the squad that got some revenge over the Three Lions eight years later with a penalty shoot-out win in the World Cup semi-finals en route to lifting the trophy in Italy.
**Striker: Davor Suker**
The same year as Gazza’s tears in Turin, Yugoslavia’s talented young side suffered their own heartbreak after finishing as runners-up in the Under-21 European Championship. That squad included famous names who would go on to represent Croatia after the state’s dissolution in 1992. The Roberts of Jarni and Prosinecki, as well as Boban and Boksic all featured, but Davor Sukur was named as the tournament’s star boy.