Great Expectations sunk Wayne Rooney, Claims Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson stated that England hitman Wayne Rooney couldn’t bear the weight of expectations and therefore failed to perform at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Wayne Rooney was in red-hot form for his club, having scored 34 times in all competitions. He was the mainstay in Manchester United, following the departure of stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from Old Trafford. Rooney was expected to lead his national side to World Cup glory; this was supposed to be “his” World Cup. But his campaign failed miserably, after he scored to fail even once in four starts for his side. England barely qualified for the Round of 16, and then crashed out the World Cup after a humiliating defeat at the hands of Germany. They lost 4-1 on the day, and never looked like the pre-tournament favourites they were dubbed as.
The United manager Sir Alex Ferguson expressed that he was "not totally surprised" by the Three Lion's failure - and knows that Rooney will come back improved and confidant in the league. He also hopes he would do better in the next World Cup, to be held in 2014 in Brazil.
Ferguson explained that the pressure got to Rooney’s head, and he is still too young (at 24) to bear that pressure. He was expected to be the player of the tournament, and that may have been the reason that would’ve caused Rooney to not play his natural game. Ferguson insisted that before the World Cup, Rooney was expected to outperform the other top players, including Lionel Messi and former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
He also pointed out that Rooney has had little prior experience of playing in the World Cup, and is just 24 years of age. He guaranteed that in four years’ time, Rooney would come back a different player; stronger, better and more composed than what he was in South Africa.
Ferguson declared that he was confused at how England performed at the World Cup. He said that when he saw them play, he was perplexed as to what the top players of England were doing there. Fergie claimed that they perhaps got an easy run in the qualifying round, and became overconfident. He insisted that it would’ve been more beneficial for the Three Lions to get a tougher qualifying route, and then they would’ve earned the right to be called the pre-tournament favourites. They would have improved the places which were exposed in the World Cup, had they played a tougher qualifying campaign. Fabio Capello’s tactics came under heavy fire when they drew two of their three group stage matches. They barely won against Slovenia to qualify for the next round. Against Germany, the score line of 4-1 is evidence enough of the weak tactics Capello used for England, and the poor performance of its players.
Ferguson was vocal about agreeing to the fact that the German players looked fresh owing to their midseason break. He praised Joachim Loew’s tactics for favouring teamwork rather than individual development, which contributed the most in Germany’s success. They were in red hot form till the 0-1 semifinal defeat against Spain, having scored 14 goals in the tournament.
Manchester United were also knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Bayern Munich, whose 8 players play in the German national side, including top player Klose, Gomez, and Schweinsteiger: "The history they've got (in Germany) is quite incredible”, the Scott claimed.
Manchester United looks to recapture the coveted English Premier League title, after failing to retain it, with Chelsea winning it with just one point. To do this, however, United will have to get Rooney back to the impressive form he showed in the previous season, and get his head back into the game. Without Rooney’s goal scoring ability, United will find it very difficult to cope up with the pressure the lower teams are now putting on the so called “Top Four”, with the world’s richest club and rivals Manchester City breathing down their necks. Other clubs like Tottenham Hotspurs, Aston Villa and Liverpool would also be challenging United as they look for a Champions League spot.
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