EURO 2008: Someone Bring Those Dutch and Italian Stars To The EPL!

Ladies and Gentlemen, "Total Football" is back.

 At least, that is how it would seem after Holland put on a fantastic showing against the World Champions last night.

The Netherlands beat Italy 3-0 in a wonderful match. And Italy didn't even play badly!

In by far the best match of an otherwise dull Euro 2008 so far, the Dutch scored one controversial goal, and two brilliant ones.

It truly was a great match, one of the best i've seen recently. The football from both sides was good, the match was open, and there was plenty of attacking football on display.

Every time Holland went forward they looked dangerous.

There were many players who had superb games (Khalid Boulahrouz repaid Marco van Basten's faith in him by putting in a great display), but another man who had a great game was the referee.

So far this European Championships, the referees have given away too many soft free-kicks, every time a player hits the deck. However, this ref ignored most of the players throwing themselves to the floor, and let the game flow. Praise also has to go to the players who didn't throw themselves to the floor too often, or at least not as often as I expected them to.

And a special mention to Ruud van Nistelrooy, who could have gone down and won his team a penalty, but stayed up and stayed honest. Good on you Ruud!

However, in this match I saw a handful of players who I would love to see in the EPL. Six in particular struck me as players who would just thrive in England, and I hope someone gets them here.

The first of these players is Gennaro Gattuso. I've liked him for a long time, and I still think he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. And I think, if he came to the EPL, he could be as big of a success as Roy Keane, and maybe an even bigger one. And that is no exaggeration.

His style of play suits the Premiership very well, and he shares a lot of similarities with the Manchester United legend. His mad eyes, his will to win, his 100 percent dedication and commitment, and his never-giving-up attitude.

I'm surprised he hasn't come to England yet, and I hope he does before his career is over.

The next player was Wesley Sneijder. I've seen him a few times for Real Madrid, and he impresses me every time. His passing, skill, and free-kick abilities are among the best in the world.

I think £20-25 million could be enough to get him, and he could be well worth the money. I can see him taking the Premiership by storm in a Liverpool shirt.

Andrea Pirlo was the next player. His passing and free-kick abilities are probably even better than Sneijder's, and I can see him playing deep, knocking 70-yard passes and occasionally getting forward to contribute goals as well. Much like Xabi Alonso does at Liverpool now.

Could Pirlo be the perfect replacement for the seemingly outward-bound Alonso? I wouldn't be complaining!

Luca Toni is another player who would thrive in the EPL, I think. He could be another Les Ferdinand figure, dangerous on the ground and even more so in the air. He would be a great buy for a team lacking that cutting edge up front, perhaps a Manchester City or a West Ham. Whether those teams could get him or not is a different story.

Orlando Engelaar, Holland's giant central midfielder also struck me as the type of player who would relish the opportunity to play here. He was one of Holland's best players today—which is saying something—and looks like he could be one of the stars of the tournament.

He would be a great buy for Tottenham, Everton, Blackburn, or even as a replacement for Mathieu Flamini at Highbury.

The final player who really stood out for me was Alessandro Del Piero.

The Italian legend is still doing it on the biggest stage, looking dangerous when he came on. After being the Serie A top scorer this season, he has shown that his career isn't dwindling down into nothingness just yet.

I can see a last hurrah for him happening in England, and for some reason I can see him in a Fulham shirt. Much like Vincenzo Montella was a few years back.

But whoever these players go to, I just hope someone will bring them to the EPL, because it will make it even bigger, even better, and if they play like they did last night every week, it will make it a lot more entertaining as well!