New stars emerge on Under-21 stage

Players from all eight competing nations produced eye-catching performances during the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals – and here uefa.com picks out ten of the stars who made a lasting impression on the tournament.

Marcus Berg (Sweden)
Berg's championship record seven goals is unlikely to be bettered for some time. Grace, pace and poise under pressure, he has the poacher's knack of being in the right place at the right time. His hat-trick against Belarus set the tournament alight and captured his nation's imagination.

Lee Cattermole (England)
The burley No4 mixed craft with his trademark graft to emerge as the driving force of the England midfield. Opened England's account with a goal against Finland and was their best player in the final, skimming the bar with one drive and having another effort cleared off the line.

Sebastian Giovinco (Italy)
Livewire Giovinco was the fulcrum of Italy's attacks. He had a hand in three of Italy's four goals and his excellent set-pieces could have brought more. Fleet of foot and of mind, the diminutive forward was threatening on the right of a three-man forward line or in a deeper playmaker's role.

Gojko Kačar (Serbia)
When Serbia need a hole filling they turn to Gojko Kačar, who having started the qualifying campaign as a defender ended the competition in attack. He scored against Sweden and things might have been so different had his scissor-kick not bounced back off the post versus Italy.

Sergei Kislyak (Belarus)
A shining light in a team that struggled for goals and confidence. Kislyak's stunning strikes in defeats against Sweden and Italy deserved to have more of a say in the outcome of each match. His 30-metre drive against Sweden was the first and arguably best goal of the tournament.

Marco Motta (Italy)
AS Roma completed a tidy piece of business when they signed the 23-year-old right-back on a permanent deal soon after another commanding performance had helped seal the Azzurrini's place in the last four. Powerful in the air and a real leader on the pitch.

Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Should soon fill the senior No1 jersey and on these displays could keep it for the forseeable future. Kept four clean sheets in five games and though centre-backs Benedikt Höwedes and Jerome Boateng were fantastic, it was Neuer who kept Germany in the tournament with save after save against Italy in the semi-final.

Mesut Özil (Germany)
In a team dominated by defence, Özil provided the creative edge. Played out of position as a makeshift striker against Finland he set up both goals in his side's 2-0 win. The Werder Bremen man was then back in his preferred midfield role for the final and ran the show, scoring once and setting up two more.

Micah Richards (England)
A headed winner against Finland and man of the match performance against Spain, when Bojan Krkić was substituted after 57 minutes, underscored Richards' importance to England at both ends. Stood up to be counted when the defence was under siege in the knockout matches.

Ola Toivonen (Sweden)
A selfless team player and the perfect foil for Berg in attack. A threat in the air or with the ball at his feet, his weighted chipped pass for Berg to volley in his second against Belarus was a delight. Scored three himself and caught the eye as much for his clever passing as his finishing.

This list was chosen by uefa.com reporters working at the tournament. The UEFA Technical Team will produce an official team of the tournament as part of their technical report on the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.