Real Madrid

Alvaro Arbeloa earned a 9.25 rating against Croatia, the second best grade so far in the Euro 2012. The Real Madrid defender talked to the media about this and discussed Jose Mourinho and teammate Karim Benzema.

"One likes to be valued and my statistic against Croatia highlights things people don't really focus on, such as the job a defender does. This is occasionally less appreciated than the work of those in attack."

"Mourinho helps you be mentally stronger because he instills his winning mentality in all his players. He works very well on a tactical level and always helps his men improve."

"Karim Benzema is one of the best players in the world and those of us lucky to see him on a daily basis are more aware of this than others. He is a very intelligent player."