Poster boys flop on the pitch
Source: Agencies |
July 1, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IMAGES of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samuel Eto'o are still festooned on posters all over South Africa but sadly for them that's their only involvement as the World Cup reaches its final stages.
Along with the likes of Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Fernando Torres of Spain, they were supposed to score goals and have a battle royal to prove themselves as the world's best player. It did not quite work out like that.
Messi, who has had an excellent tournament so far without scoring a goal, and Torres, who has had an indifferent tournament without scoring either, are still involved with Argentina facing Germany in their quarterfinal and Spain playing Paraguay.
They still have time to leave an indelible mark on this World Cup but the chance has gone, for at least another four years, for Rooney and Ronaldo. For Drogba, who will be 36 in 2014 and Eto'o, who will be 33, the chance may have gone for good.
Build-up
The build-up to the tournament in England was dominated by stories of how an-in form Rooney would lead England to the semifinals at least.
Rooney though, played without a smile and had a miserable sullen campaign. It was summed up by a wild, ludicrous "shot" at goal during England's 1-4 second round defeat to Germany when his effort appeared to be heading for the landlocked nation of Lesotho 80 miles away rather than the back of the German net.
His old Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, also rarely rose above the mediocre.
He came close to starting the tournament in glory with a long-distance strike that crashed against the Ivory Coast post but was mostly ineffective for the rest of that game. He scored a comical goal in the 7-0 rout of the North Koreans but was a far cry from his best as well.
Frustrated by not being able to make darting runs and with his free-kicks mostly flying into the stands, Ronaldo spent most of the tournament pouting.
The two big African stars of the pre-tournament build-up had moderate successes, even though their teams failed to survive the group stage.
Drogba played with a protective cast for Ivory Coast after fracturing his arm before the tournament, and at least had the satisfaction of becoming the first African to score a goal against Brazil in the World Cup when he netted in their 3-1 defeat at Soccer City.
Cameroonian Eto'o managed to get on the scoresheet twice before his side also exited at the group stage.
They never came close to emulating the 1990 Roger Milla campaign and will be remembered among the footnotes when the story of this tournament is recalled in the history books.
Along with the likes of Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Fernando Torres of Spain, they were supposed to score goals and have a battle royal to prove themselves as the world's best player. It did not quite work out like that.
Messi, who has had an excellent tournament so far without scoring a goal, and Torres, who has had an indifferent tournament without scoring either, are still involved with Argentina facing Germany in their quarterfinal and Spain playing Paraguay.
They still have time to leave an indelible mark on this World Cup but the chance has gone, for at least another four years, for Rooney and Ronaldo. For Drogba, who will be 36 in 2014 and Eto'o, who will be 33, the chance may have gone for good.
Build-up
The build-up to the tournament in England was dominated by stories of how an-in form Rooney would lead England to the semifinals at least.
Rooney though, played without a smile and had a miserable sullen campaign. It was summed up by a wild, ludicrous "shot" at goal during England's 1-4 second round defeat to Germany when his effort appeared to be heading for the landlocked nation of Lesotho 80 miles away rather than the back of the German net.
His old Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive player, also rarely rose above the mediocre.
He came close to starting the tournament in glory with a long-distance strike that crashed against the Ivory Coast post but was mostly ineffective for the rest of that game. He scored a comical goal in the 7-0 rout of the North Koreans but was a far cry from his best as well.
Frustrated by not being able to make darting runs and with his free-kicks mostly flying into the stands, Ronaldo spent most of the tournament pouting.
The two big African stars of the pre-tournament build-up had moderate successes, even though their teams failed to survive the group stage.
Drogba played with a protective cast for Ivory Coast after fracturing his arm before the tournament, and at least had the satisfaction of becoming the first African to score a goal against Brazil in the World Cup when he netted in their 3-1 defeat at Soccer City.
Cameroonian Eto'o managed to get on the scoresheet twice before his side also exited at the group stage.
They never came close to emulating the 1990 Roger Milla campaign and will be remembered among the footnotes when the story of this tournament is recalled in the history books.
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