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Many players come to the World Cup on the back of having an excellent season. Expectations naturally rise after such a season. Then there are players who have been performing exceptionally well for their clubs for the past few years and fall into the category of the great footballers. But World Cup has been cruel to these players in many aspects. World Cup can suddenly turn a great footballer into an ordinary one. A platform to test your skills against the world’s best, they sometimes fall short of leaving a telling impression. Here is my list of the 5 biggest World Cup flops of 2010.
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1) WAYNE ROONEY: The first name which comes to my mind is Wayne Rooney. He was expected to be one of the best players of the tournament especially after coming from a magnificent season for Manchester united. However he miserably failed to live up to the expectations. Neither could he set the stage on fire nor did he get any support from his teammates in terms of assists. The injury in the later stages of the season did not help either.
2) FRANK RIBERY: Many believe him to be an overrated player. He had an excellent season with Bayern Munich winning two trophies and reaching the champions league finals. However he was a shadow of his self during the tournament and with only one assist was one of the biggest flops of this year’s World Cup. Not to mention France’s problems during the World Cup.
3) KAKA: Kaka had an indifferent season for real Madrid and played very few matches during the later stages of the campaign due to injury. Even after returning from injury, he never looked like possessing any threat in front of goal. He was however better than many other stars and managed to put up a decent performance from Brazil. But the magic was still missing.
4) CRISTIANO RONALDO: Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player of the world. Yet he has not been able to match his form for his clubs with the performances he gives for his country. He was a pale figure in the matches. Although he was terrific in the match against North Korea, he could not lead Portugal to a victory against Spain when it mattered most. The World Cup is surely a great leveler.
5) FERNANDO TORRES: He scores for Liverpool even if he gets half a chance. Yet he was a big flop for the Spanish national side this time as he had just recovered from an injury that meant he had lack of match practice. Constantly overshadowed by his teammate David Villa, his form dipped so badly that he was on the substitute’s bench in the final two matches of the World Cup. It was fitting, however, that the one of the only telling passes that this main striker conjured in the World Cup produced a goal out of Andres Iniesta that won Spain their first World Cup. Only a couple of minutes later, he pulled a hamstring. But he would take all that if it meant Spain winning the title.
