Big Five Footballers Fail to Deliver at 2010 World Cup

The World Cup has long been the platform for some of football’s most exciting play with the brightest stars in the field delivering sensational performances of a lifetime. Saturday, however, saw a triumphant Germany defeat Argentina hands down with a score of 4-0 on the pitch. The defeat has seen the last of the tournament’s ‘big five’ sent home with along with their respective teams. Ronaldo, Messi, Rooney, Kaka, Drogba and Didier have all left South Africa with only Ronaldo and Drogba managing to score at all in the competition.

Argentina’s legendary coach, Diego Maradona, expressed his personal disappointment following Saturday’s game. Asked why so many of football’s biggest names have failed to deliver, he said that play had evolved into “a very different type of game these days." He now contemplates an uncertain future with the team who were well and truly slaughtered by the German opposition. He called the defeat one of the toughest moments of his life and added "I may leave tomorrow but I want these boys to go on".

Meanwhile, Germany’s Joachim Loew reflected on his team’s success and alluded to the importance of younger players on the squad. Thomas Mueller and Mesut Ozil, for instance, have been instrumental in Germany’s success. Many are turning their attention to England’s Fabio Capello who may now be under greater pressure to pull in fresher faces. Football fans will have to wait until July 11 to discover the outcome of the 2010 tournament. What is clear, however, is that the FIFA World Cup has lost none of its ability to deliver excitement.