Amid all the pre-World Cup speculation, few people predicted that Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo would all have failed to live up to their expensive hype.

With three Ballons d'Or between them (only Rooney has not won one) and a combined total of 121 goals scored for their respective clubs last season, they were the players tipped to illuminate the first African World Cup.

Messi, the diminutive, fleet-footed dribbler supreme, was perhaps the biggest disappointment.

A serial trophy winner in recent seasons with Barcelona, the Argentine fell victim to Diego Maradona's desire to cram as many attacking players into his team as possible, leaving Messi isolated as the only creative player in central areas.

In the 4-0 quarterfinal thrashing by Germany, Messi had a defensive midfielder (Javier Mascherano) behind him, two wingers (Maxi Rodriguez and Angel di Maria) either side and two fowards (Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain) ahead of him.

With no other skilled passers in the team, Messi was forced to drop deeper and deeper in search of the ball.

He frequently assumed possession well inside his own half and when he turned, he was confronted by a wall of German players.

"We expected the Argentine line-up and knew Messi would fall back into midfield," said Germany coach Joachim Loew.

Messi graced the tournament with his daring dribbling and incisive passing, but, despite 30 shots at goal, he failed to score.

Rooney was likewise expected to launch a strong challenge for the Golden Boot, having scored a career-best tally of 34 goals for Manchester United last season.

Like Messi, though, he was hamstrung by a restrictive formation.

Forced to labor alongside a strike partner in a rigid 4-4-2, he had no scope to drop deep and exploit the space in front of the opposition defense.

His performances in the 0-0 group-stage draw with Algeria and the 4-1 defeat by Germany were uncharacteristically wretched, as he struggled to execute even the simplest of tasks and was frequently betrayed by his touch.

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson dismissed suggestions he was still being bothered by an ankle injury that flared up towards the end of last season.

"There is nothing wrong with the lad or his fitness," Ferguson said.

"He's relaxing on holiday in Barbados and I expect him to come back refreshed for the new season."

One player undoubtedly bedevilled by injury was Kaka, whose World Cup featured three assists, an unjust red card in the 3-1 group phase win over the Cote d'Ivoire but - like Messi and Rooney - no goals.

The Real Madrid star arrived at the tournament after a season regularly punctuated by knocks and niggles, and Brazil fitness coach Jose Luiz Runco conceded he was not in top condition.

"Maybe in other situations Kaka would not have even played the World Cup, but he really wanted to be there," said Runco as Brazil returned home.

Kaka's clubmate Ronaldo, by contrast, enjoyed a stellar debut campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, netting 33 goals despite the pressure of having to justify his world record 94-million-euro price-tag.

But he drifted through the World Cup, scoring just once - in Portugal's 7-0 demolition of North Korea - and going absent without leave in its last-16 exit at the hands of Spain.