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The Bigger Flop – Wayne Rooney Or Cristiano Ronaldo
posted Jul-01 | 406 hits
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Two former Manchester United teammates – Wayne Rooney & Cristiano Ronaldo were tipped to shine in South Africa 2010 after having successful seasons for their respective clubs.
The two superstars of the modern game were expected to excel and take their countries to the latter stages of the World Cup. But both of them came up with below-par performances and their teams got knocked out from the round of 16. |
Rooney and CR9 will be returning home earlier than expected and because of their reputation and abilities as a player, they were certainly two of the biggest flops of the tournament.
Goal.com’s Amoy Ghoshal ponders as to who was the bigger flop of the two.
Wayne Rooney:
 Back Home Early
Wayne Rooney had his best ever season at club level for Manchester United, scoring 34 goals in all competitions and winning several individual awards. But towards the end of the season he did suffer an injury which was ultimately instrumental in United’s failure to retain the Premier League and win the Champions League. It also put a shadow on his World Cup appearance but Wazza managed to recover on time and boarded the flight to South Africa.
However his form in the latter stages of the domestic season and for England in the warm up friendly matches raised suggestions that the 24 year old isn’t 100 percent fit. We can’t be sure if that was the reason for Rooney’s poor form in the World Cup but there is no doubt that the former Everton youngster failed to deliver.
 No Goals In Two World Cups
There were instances in the group stage especially in the games against USA and Slovenia when he wasted chances which don’t have to do anything with his fitness. Rooney squandered some one-on-one opportunities and hardly looked a threat off the ball. He also very rarely created an opportunity for his teammates and overall had a tournament to forget.
Rooney has now failed to score over two separate editions of the World Cup and has not scored for the Three Lions since September 2009 that would open the door again for his critics to blast him for failing to perform in England colours during big international tournaments (Euro 2004 being the only exception).
 Was Roo Rushed Back?
It would be wrong to single out Rooney for England’s failure but he does have to take the majority of the blame because of his star status. In his defence, there should be some criticism for Capello and the rest of the coaching staff for rushing him back into game action. Also let’s not forget that the system England played was totally different to the one he was used to at Old Trafford last season and brought the best out from him.
The debate on why Rooney failed might never end but the bottom line is that the England striker came into the World Cup as one potential star of the tournament but eventually has returned home as a flop.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
 Not Good Enough
The 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year did justice to his ‘most expensive player’ tag by scoring 33 goals in 35 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid. At the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo was still an emerging young star but coming into the 2010 World Cup he was no doubt an established star and was expected to be one of the best players of the tournament.
But the 25 year old looked a shadow of the player which the whole world knows in the opening game against Ivory Coast and at times even got frustrated because of the constant fouling by the Ivorians. A freekick that hit the woodwork was the only highlight for him in that game but his loyal fans still voted for him in the man of the match poll of the FIFA website.
That award was probably not even a consolation for the Portuguese captain but he did go on to win another man of the match award in Portugal’s 7-0 win over North Korea. Ronaldo bagged an assist and scored too (his second World Cup goal after scoring in the 2-0 win over Iran in 2006) but in truth the Asian team provided very little resistance.
 Too Much Pressure?
Ronaldo’s acid test was against Brazil in the last group game which Portugal had to win to top Group G and possibly avoid a round of 16 clash against Spain. But the former Sporting Lisbon winger failed miserably and hardly had a good moment in the match. That performance was a confirmation of his struggle in South Africa 2010 and that continued in the knockout stage also.
Other than the opening stages, Ronaldo cut a sorry figure in the game as the Spaniards gave him very little space and time to exploit. The Portuguese skipper never looked like changing the game and what would be more frustrating for the Portuguese fans that he never really tried extra hard to cause problems to the Spanish back four.
 Queiroz To Blame?
Now there can be several reasons for CR9’s failure – firstly the defensive tactics of Carlos Queiroz which even forced Ronaldo to track back, which we hardly see him doing at club level. Secondly Portugal’s over dependency on the Real Madrid star probably put a lot of pressure on the former United player which he either couldn’t cope with or just wasn’t willing to take.
Again the reasons can be plenty to defend Ronaldo’s failure but the fact is, one of the most recognized footballers of the world failed to deliver in the biggest stage of the game.
Verdict: Rooney
 The Bigger Flop?
The only argument in favour of the Englishman is that he probably wasn’t fully fit, which was certainly the case with Ronaldo. But otherwise Rooney was definitely the more disappointing as he played alongside better players (going by reputation), had an easier group and on paper had an easier opponent in the round of the 16 than Ronaldo.
CR9 did have one decent performance but Wazza failed in all the four matches that he played so my voted goes to the current Manchester United number 10. |
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