In sport, reputation can be crystallised or destroyed in one match. Claudio Gentile was unfairly recognised as a hard-man outside Italy for his savage treatment of Diego Maradona (and then Zico in the next game) in the 1982 World Cup but here was a player who was fantastically more all-rounded than that one game made him.

In sport, reputation can be crystallised or destroyed in one match. Claudio Gentile was unfairly recognised as a hard-man outside Italy for his savage treatment of Diego Maradona (and then Zico in the next game) in the 1982 World Cup but here was a player who was fantastically more all-rounded than that one game made him.

Following the completion of the Euro 2012 Qualifying Play-Offs, from which Portugal, Croatia, Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland all qualified this week, all sixteen teams that will be participating in Poland and the Ukraine next June are now known.

The Play-Offs saw the eight runners up of the qualifying groups comepte for the four remaining places at next year's tournament and the outcomes of all the games proved reasonably predictable.

Just over a year ago, Nani scored his second goal of the game to put United 3-0 up against Bayern Munich. After Nani's improved form, I remember thinking how nice it was that he would get the credit for putting us in yet another European Cup semi-final. We had given ourselves a lot to do in the first leg, after leading 1-0 until the 75th minute before conceding two late goals, so I was made up we had shown the strength to come back and blow our opposition away.