Wayne Rooney would have been the front-runner for Euro 2004's player of the tournament had he not been injured, according to Gerard Houllier, the former Liverpool manager who is now a UEFA technical expert.

Everton's teenage striker was one of four England players in UEFA's all-star squad - Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Sol Campbell were the others - with victorious Greece captain Theo Zagorakis named the overall player of the competition.

Former Liverpool manager Houllier said Rooney had made a deep impression on the members of UEFA's technical group who chose the 23-man squad.

Houllier said: ''It was unfortunate for Wayne Rooney because if he had not been injured I think he might have won the main player award.

''He was a revelation, a very young promising player. He was excellent against France, Switzerland and Croatia. It's just a shame that he then got the injury against Portugal because he was such a big influence in the English team.

''He played in a very clever way, always dropping at the right time and getting the ball. I think his link-up play between the midfield and Michael (Owen) was very good.''

UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh was also a huge admirer - but warned that there are dangers ahead for the 18-year-old.

''He was Roy of the Rovers here,'' Roxburgh said. ''He was like a comic-book hero - everything he touched turned to gold.

''He's such a likeable guy too - so open, just a young boy enjoying every moment.

''There are plenty of examples of shooting stars who just flash across the sky and disappear, what's difficult is to appear early and stay at their top and there is every sign that he will do so.

''It's always a big fear that the ones that come on the stage very early get too much attention and too much money too soon. The players themselves have to be aware of the dangers and they need really good people around them to support them - and I know, in David Moyes, Wayne Rooney does have a very good person to help him.''

Greece had five players in the all-star squad, while England and beaten finalists Portugal both had four. Previous champions France has just one - Zinedine Zidane.

Houllier said former Leicester midfielder Zagorakis had played well throughout the tournament.

He said: ''We think he was consistently performing throughout the competition and he won the man-of-the-match award himself in the first and last games of the tournament.

''He played very well in the six games, he showed leadership qualities but he was not just a very good captain but a very important player to the side, a great personality. His skill and technical ability showed in every match - against France it was he who beat Lizarazu and made a great cross.

''I know he played in England and apparently didn't make it but that happens - they can still be very good players.''

Houllier said Cole was ''a revelation to some, he had a fantastic tournament'' while Roxburgh described Campbell ''a colossus'' and Lampard's three goals in midfield ''impressed us all - he's one of the new boys on the block''.

Other Premiership players who also made the squad were Liverpool's Milan Baros, the tournament's leading scorer with five goals for the Czech Republic, Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, Aston Villa's Swedish central defender Olof Mellberg and Chelsea's new keeper Peter Cech of the Czech Republic.

Former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson also made it into the all-star squad thanks to his four goals for Sweden.