The UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, hosted in various cities across Portugal, the tournament featured 16 national teams from Europe competing for the continental title. One of the most memorable aspects of Euro 2004 was the unexpected victory of Greece, who emerged as the surprise champions by defeating Portugal 1-0 in the final!
Standout performances came from young talents like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Petr Cech, who showcased their skills on the international stage. 2004 was absolutely stacked with world-class ballers, this is going to be a tough set to rank!
Let’s get into the Top 10!
The Panini Euro 2004 Complete Album
10 – Angelos Charisteas International Rookie Sticker – #46 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Podosfairo 1998-1999
Angelos Charisteas, a Greek striker, is best known for his crucial contributions during the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, where Greece shocked the football world by winning the championship against all odds!
As a player, Charisteas was known for his physical presence, aerial ability, and clinical finishing. He was a threat in the air and often posed a challenge for opposing defenders during set-pieces. Charisteas had good positioning inside the box, making timely runs to capitalise on scoring opportunities.
During Euro 2004, Charisteas showcased his goal-scoring prowess, netting three goals in the tournament. His most memorable goal came in the final against Portugal, where he headed in the winning goal off a corner kick, securing a historic 1-0 victory for Greece and their first major international trophy!
In truth, relative to all the other players in this list, Angelos has had a substantially smaller career. But, given he scored the championship winning goal for Greece in this tournament, he had to make the top 10 list!
9 – Tomas Rosicky International Rookie Sticker – #284 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini German Football Bundesliga 2001-2002
Tomas Rosicky, commonly known as “Little Mozart,” was a Czech midfielder renowned for his intelligence, vision, technical skills, and creativity on the field. His playing style was marked by exceptional dribbling ability, precise passing, and the capability to orchestrate attacks from midfield.
Throughout Euro 2004, Rosicky demonstrated his ability to control the midfield, create scoring opportunities, and dictate the tempo of the game. His exceptional vision and playmaking skills were instrumental in unlocking opposition defences. The Czech Republic made it to the semi-final of the tournament, Rosicky’s performances earned him a reputation as one of the up and coming young stars.
His career has been plagued with injuries, but nonetheless he is truely an icon at Arsenal and Sparta Prague.
8 – Dimitar Berbatov International Rookie Sticker – True Rookie Sticker from Panini German Football Bundesliga 2002-2003
Dimitar Berbatov was known for his elegance, technical ability, and lethal finishing in front of goal. He had exquisite ball control, intelligent movement off the ball, and a knack for scoring goals with both feet and his head. Berbatov was renowned for his ability to hold up play, bring teammates into the game, and create scoring opportunities with his precise passing and vision.
Despite Bulgaria’s disappointing campaign, I still think this is a great sticker. With his rookie sticker being in the 2002-03 Bundesliga season, this sticker represents one of his first products. He has gone on to be one of the great Premier League strikers winning titles with Manchester United.
7 – Fernando Torres International Rookie Sticker – #88 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Superliga de Estrellas 2002-2003
Fernando Torres, known as “El Niño,” was a striker renowned for his explosive pace, agility, and clinical finishing. His playing style was characterised by his ability to stretch defences with his speed, make intelligent runs behind the backline, and seize on scoring opportunities with his lethal striking ability.
Torres during the tournament was still a very young man and asn’t able to get on the scoresheet. Despite this, he showed glimpses of his quality and gave the defenders a reason to be scared.
Torres has had a fantastic career, scoring goals everywhere he goes. I think this is a great sticker!
6 – Xabi Alonso International Rookie Sticker – #80 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Superliga de Estrellas 2002-2003
Xabi Alonso was a deep-lying midfielder known for his exceptional passing range, vision, intelligence, and defensive abilities. He possessed composure on the ball, tactical awareness, and ability to control the tempo of the game from midfield. Alonso was adept at orchestrating play from deep positions, initiating attacks with accurate long-range passes, and breaking up opposition attacks with timely interceptions and tackles.
During the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, in the small amount of minutes he received, he showcased his passing ability and vision by distributing the ball effectively to his teammates, dictating the rhythm of Spain’s matches. While Spain did not advance past the group stage in Euro 2004, Alonso’s performances earned him recognition for his talent and potential as a midfield maestro.
Now his playing career is over, he has established himself as one of the all time greats. I personally think he is underrated! Countless trophies and incredible skill, what a sticker!
5 – Wesley Sneijder International Rookie Sticker – #328 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Voetbal 2003-2004
Wesley Sneijder was known for his technical skill, vision, passing ability, and goal-scoring prowess. Sneijder had creativity, versatility, and ability to dictate the tempo of the game from midfield. Sneijder possessed excellent ball control, dribbling skills and an absolute monster of a right foot, capable of scoring from anywhere!
During the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Sneijder played a significant role for the Netherlands national team, despite being a bench player. He showcased his maturity and talent on the international stage for a man of his age!
Sneijder’s best football came with Inter Milan, winning Serie A titles and a UCL title. I think he was unlucky not to win the Ballon d’Or the year he won the UCL. In is defence he has Ronaldo and Messi to content with, but I reiterate, he was unlucky!
4 – Deco International Rookie Sticker – #19 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Futebol 1998-1999
Deco, was renowned for his exceptional vision, passing ability, ball control, and creativity on the field. He had intelligence, technical skill, and ability to orchestrate attacks from midfield. Deco was known for his precise and incisive passes, as well as his dribbling skills, which allowed him to navigate through opposition defences with ease. He possessed a keen eye for goal and was capable of scoring from long range with powerful shots.
During the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Deco played a pivotal role in Portugal’s success. He emerged as one of the standout performers of the tournament, leading the Portuguese midfield with his creativity and playmaking abilities. Deco’s influential performances helped Portugal reach the final. Throughout the tournament, he showcased his ability to control the tempo of the game, create scoring opportunities for his teammates, and contribute defensively when needed.
Deco finished his career as a Barcelona and Portugal legend. He won titles with FC Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea. I wouldn’t sleep on this sticker!
3 – Arjen Robben International Rookie Sticker – #332 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Voetbal 2003-2004
Arjen Robben was known for his explosive pace, exceptional dribbling ability, precise shooting, and deadly left foot. Robben was renowned for his trademark move of cutting inside from the right flank onto his left foot, a move that became known as the “Robben cut.” This move often allowed him to create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.
During the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Robben played a significant role for the Netherlands national team. Despite being only 20 years old at the time, he showcased his immense talent and potential on the international stage. Robben’s electrifying performances on the wing provided the Dutch team with a potent attacking threat throughout the tournament. He finished the tournament with 3 assists and although the Netherlands was eliminated in the semifinals of Euro 2004 by Portugal, Robben’s contributions did not go unnoticed.
Robben’s success at Euro 2004 laid the foundation for a remarkable career that saw him become one of the most iconic wingers of his generation.
2 – Wayne Rooney International Rookie Sticker – #131 – True Rookie Sticker from Merlin English Premier League 2002-2003
At the time of the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Rooney was just 18 years old, but he had already made a significant impact on the footballing world. During Euro 2004, Rooney burst onto the international stage with a series of dazzling performances for the England national team. Despite his young age, he showcased his maturity, fearlessness, and talent against some of the best teams in Europe. Many believe if he didn’t get injured, England woud have won the tournament!
As for a player, Rooney is the best young player I have ever seen! He was simply unbelievable. Now day’s (2024), the talk is Mbappe and Haaland, and rightly so, but at a young age, I think Rooney was clear. He has everything and was the complete footballer. The strange thing with Rooney is he was a better player at 20 than he was at 30!
This is a big big sticker!
1 – Cristiano Ronaldo International Rookie Sticker – #23 – True Rookie Sticker from Panini Futebol 2002-2003
Cristiano Ronaldo is the best International Rookie in Sticker Panini UEFA Euro Portugal 2004.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese legend and possible GOAT, is renowned for his athleticism, speed, agility, and goal-scoring prowess. At the time of the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, Ronaldo was a rising star in European football, known for his dazzling dribbling skills, flair, and ability to change the course of a game.
During Euro 2004, Ronaldo played a pivotal role for the Portugal national team. Despite being just 19 years old at the time, he showcased his immense talent and potential on the international stage. Throughout the tournament, Ronaldo’s performances captured the attention of football fans worldwide. He scored 2 goals and had 2 assists in the tournament, with 1 of the goals being in the semi-final!
Although Portugal ultimately fell short in the final against Greece, Ronaldo’s contributions did not go unnoticed. His performances at Euro 2004 earned him the UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament award and solidified his reputation as one of the most promising young talents in world football.
We all know what the guy has gone onto do in his career! This sticker is an absolute must have! It won’t come cheap!
Summary
Apart from rookie stickers in the top 2 places, this list was extremely hard to mark. Many many many legends were left out (see below), I know there are going to be major disagreements on this one! I was happy to add Angelos Charisteas, he may not have been the biggest player, but he had his moment in this tournament!
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments or you can message me on my instagram.