( L - R ) RONALDINHO, LAMPARD, SHEVCHENKO, ROONEY and MESSI
BERLIN (Reuters):
THIS SHOULD have been their moment to shine.
From Brazil's Ronaldinho to Frank Lampard of England, big-name players in their prime arrived at this World Cup aiming to confirm the stellar reputations they enjoy in club football.
They did not deliver.
Sometimes it was a case of poor form, sometimes it was down to injury, sometimes teams went out of the tournament before their top players had a chance to prove their worth.
But no player has emerged to take the tournament by storm with only four games left to play. Some of the best performances have come from old hands like France's Zinedine Zidane, whose reputation is already assured.
Ronaldinho, 26, came to Germany with two successive World Player of the Year awards to his name and experts raving about the playmaker's skill and artistry.
Camera bulbs flashed all around Berlin's Olympiastadion in anticipation of a magic moment when he stepped up to take a free-kick in Brazil's first match against Croatia. But he disappointed then and continued to do so, showing only glimpses of his undoubted class, as part of an entire Brazil team that never really found its rhythm.
"It's an enormous sadness especially after a long period in which we've become used to winning all the competitions," Ronaldinho said after Brazil were knocked out by France at the quarter-final stage on Saturday night.
"I wanted to make Brazil champions."
LAMPARD DISAPPOINTS
Midfielder Lampard, 28, was second to Ronaldinho in the last World Player of the Year poll of national coaches and captains.
He went into this World Cup having scored 20 goals for Chelsea last season and 10 for England in his previous 22 games. He also had a point to prove - he did not even make the squad for the last World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
"I don't forget the hurt of not going," he said ahead of England's first group game. "The fact that I am going to this one and hope to play a big part makes it all the more sweet."
Lampard's feelings have probably turned bitter now. He played every minute of England's campaign but did not score or set up a goal and had a generally poor World Cup.
Summing up his misery, his penalty was saved in Saturday's shoot-out with Portugal which sent England out of the tournament.
Lampard's England team mate Wayne Rooney, 20, also struggled to live up to his billing - although it was always going to be a tall order for the striker to reach top form after a broken foot ruined his build-up to the tournament.
Rooney's World Cup ended in ignominy when he was sent off against Portugal in the quarter-finals.
KNEE INJURY
Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko, European Footballer of the Year in 2004, suffered a knee injury before the finals and was another player not to show the full range of his talents.
The normally lethal 29-year-old striker even had a weak penalty saved in his side's second round shoot-out with Switzerland, although he did manage two goals in other games.
Some players did not even get a real chance to shine. Dutch winger Arjen Robben and Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky impressed early on but their teams failed to make the latter stages.
Argentina's Lionel Messi, who turned 19 at this World Cup, seemed to generate a buzz every time he had the ball but the forward was used mainly as a substitute by coach Jose Pekerman.
