FIFA World Cup 2010: The most underrated players at the World Cup
Every one heard of failing superstars at the World Cup; players including the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney. And then everyone took note of players like Villa, Forlan and Sneijder. However there were a few players who played tremendously but failed to get the acknowledgement that they deserved.
Manuel Neuer went into the World Cup as Germany’s number one due to a crisis in the team. The position for the number one jersey in the German squad was put into uncertainty after the first choice keeper, Robert Enke committed suicide. His replacement, Rene Adler also suffered a serious injury that kept him from participating in the tournament. So in the end the job fell into the hands of Manuel Neuer. His performances left everyone wondering why he wasn’t the first choice keeper to begin with. The German team was better known throughout for their pace and attack options but it was the brilliant performances by Neuer in goal that made them a force to be reckoned with.
The Dutch team consisted of relatively unsung heroes this time around. No player demonstrated this fact better than Mathijsen. Mathijsen’s play was unspectacular but definitely effective, he was constantly good and didn’t have a single poor performance during the course of the whole tournament. He suffered a knee injury but continued to play with it, he managed to show no signs of discomfort and didn’t let it affect his game either. Their tremendous defending might have even helped them win the World Cup but a red card ultimately led to their demise in the end.
Ghana were on the verge of creating history and becoming the first ever African team to reach the semi finals of the World Cup. The thought of this was made possible due to the contributions of, Asamoah Gyan. Gyan was the source of every offensive move carried out by the team. He scored three of the five goals scored by the team. He even managed to eliminate the United States by scoring the winning goal in that match.
When everyone thinks of the Uruguayan team the first and possibly only name that comes to everyone’s mind is that of the Golden Ball winner, Diego Forlan. Forlan had no doubt been tremendous throughout the course of the World Cup and was the main offensive threat for Uruguay, but everyone knows the best offense is a good defense.
The man responsible for those defensive duties was another Diego, Diego Lugano to be exact. He was the rock solid captain at the back and he lead by example. He created order at the back and marshaled the defense and made sure everyone was performing at their utmost capacity. His importance and value to the team can be assessed by the fact that when he was in the squad the team only conceded one goal but when he got injured, Uruguay conceded a total of four goals in that time frame. Any player with such an influence on the team can’t and shouldn’t be left out of the team due to his tremendous influence.
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