World Cup Woes: Manchester United or Chelsea?

Here’s a fun little parlour game: Who had a more disappointing World Cup? Manchester United or Chelsea ? By the time the quarterfinals rolled around neither of the two clubs – considered by most to be among the best in the world – had a single player left in the tournament.

Players of both the red and blue stripe have been beset by a curious raft of injuries, scandal, and big game bottling. We’d chalk it all up to the unpredictability of the game, but the fact that the bad luck has been concentrated among the same two teams leaves us wondering whether someone put a curse on the Premiership giants.  (Arsene Wenger?)

Starting with Manchester United, let’s take a look at the last side they fielded last season – for their final league showdown against Stoke City.

Edwin van der Sar – His recent international retirement meant that he never was considered for South Africa . Talk about poor timing – since the Dutch could win their first World Cup.

Nemanja Vidic – The Serbs were supposed to be one of the dark horses of the tournament, but they couldn’t get out of the group stages, thanks in part to Vidic’s uninspired play.

Rio Ferdinand – England’s captain-by-default injured his back just days before the tournament kicked off, tearing a big hole in England’s already suspect defensive back line.

Patrice Evra – The French captain led the mutiny that embarrassed a nation and was also caught on film in a training ground bust-up with one of the assistant coaches. Disgraceful.

Gary Neville – Too old to be considered for Fabio Capello’s squad, the feisty right back has had to fight off rumors that he is about to quit Manchester United for the glamorous world of Sky Sports punditry.

Darren Fletcher – Scotland didn’t qualify, which was probably just as well.

Ryan Giggs – Wales didn’t qualify, which was probably just as well.

Paul Scholes – The ginger lad refused Fabio Capello’s last minute overtures to join the England squad.  What could have been…

Nani – There was probably never a better opportunity for the Portuguese winger to emerge from the shadow of fellow trickster Cristano Ronaldo, who had a relatively lacklustre few weeks. Unfortunately, Nani hurt his shoulder and never got a chance to play.

Dimitar Berbatov – Bulgaria didn’t qualify, giving Berbs another month to work on his finishing.

Wayne Rooney – The world’s most powerful attacker didn’t even feature for England. Oh, he did? Ok, never mind then.

Certainly not a pretty picture painted by Sir Alex Ferugson‘s side. Now let’s take a look at the last side Chelsea fielded last season – for their FA Cup Final against  Portsmouth.

Peter Cech – The Czechs failed to qualify, so the Chelsea goalkeeper was one of the few who emerged with his reputation intact simply by not being anywhere near South Africa.

Branislav Ivanovic – See Nemanja Vidic.

Alex – The Brazilian central defender was left out of Dunga’s squad. A sign of Brazil’s newfound defensive fortitude, or more evidence of Dunga’s shortsightedness?

John Terry – Where do we start? Ignore, for a moment, that press conference after Algeria. JT spent most of the tournament either out of position or chasing after the ball. Utter rubbish.

Ashley Cole – The world’s best left back? Maybe he should at least have tried to provide some supporting evidence of that fact during the world’s biggest tournament.

Michael Ballack – The German captain’s World Cup dreams were shattered when he was injured in the FA Cup final.  So he’s been forced to watch his nation run rampant without him.

Frank Lampard – The midfielder broke the record for number of shots taken in a World Cup without scoring a goal. Even a crossbar and a Uruguayan referee conspired against him.

Florent Malouda – Despite bagging France’s only goal of the tournament, Malouda won’t escape the fallout after the team’s mutiny against its coach Raymond Domenech.

Didier Drogba – The pride of African hopes broke his arm in the run-up. He recovered quickly enough, but couldn’t lift Ivory Coast out of the Group of Death.

Salomon Kalou – He did about as well as expected, scoring a goal for the Ivory Coast in its defeat of North Korea.

Nicolas Anelka – His profanity-laced argument with Domenech at half-time in the Mexico game was not the root cause of France’s failure, but it certainly was the catalyst for the team’s implosion.

Oh là là. Anelka raised hell in South Africa.