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This World Cup was supposed to belong
to Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. All three players had
fantastic seasons with their respective clubs and everyone expected
their goals to light up this tournament. They did, after all, combine
for 114 goals over the 2009/2010 campaign.

However, by the time of the semi-finals
in South Africa, all three superstars had flown home and had to watch
the rest of the tournament on TV. Between them, they played 13 games
and scored just one goal.

So what went wrong? Well, it’s
impossible to generalise and use the same explanation for every player,
so let’s take it one case at a time.

Let’s start with Messi. He scored 47
goals in 53 games for Barcelona, yet at the World Cup, he couldn’t hit
the back of the net once. Now I believe Leo was actually unlucky not to
get his name on the score sheet. He had 15 shots on target, but found
some inspired goalkeepers in his way. The major problem, though, was
that he was asked to do too much.

At Barcelona, he normally receives the
ball relatively close to the area, while with Argentina; he often had
to pick it up on the halfway line. It was common to see Messi tracking
back and having to be the playmaker and then at the same time trying to
finish off the moves himself. It was just too much. The reigning World
Player of the Year wasted too much energy in areas which should have
been occupied by midfielders,

not a forward like him. As a result,
most of his shots on target were either from outside the area (11 out
of 15), or after he had made a 30 or 40 yard run.

He is a phenomenon, but is not superman.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s problem was one of
isolation. Carlos Queiroz decided to play his star player in a forward
role, and ultimately paid the price. Ronaldo did score in this World
Cup, but so did practically the whole team against North Korea. It was
his first goal in 16 months for the national team so it really does
show that he is not being used in the correct manner.

Isolated

I noticed every
time Cristiano got the ball, he had no-one around him to pass it to.
Portugal were playing in a counter attacking style and often left the
Real Madrid standout on his own up front hoping he would miraculously
dribble past two or three players and score.

Some Portuguese
fans have told me recently that they feel Ronaldo doesn’t try hard
enough when he plays for his national team. I disagree. I believe he
actually tries too hard, but is often stranded on his own up front,
with a mountain to climb every single time he touches the ball.

What about Rooney?
Wayne didn’t look 100% fit and he lacked the sharpness that we have
come to expect. In four games, he managed only six shots on target, and
that is simply not good enough.

Besides fitness, Rooney can also blame a lack of service from the
midfielders. Neither Frank Lampard nor Steven Gerrard provided enough
passes to the front man, especially around the box. I saw the
Manchester United star run around aimlessly too often, desperately
looking to get the ball. And he did not see enough of it.