New Delhi, May 29 (IANS) The FIFA World Cup has over the years has thrown up the planet's biggest stars just as it has also ruined the careers of many big stars.
This year in Brazil many footballers could end up becoming part of the football folklore and some others could dramatically fall from grace.
The spotlight will be on two of the greatest contemporary footballers who made a mark in club football in Europe. There is no doubting the calibre of Argentine Lionel Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and their clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid have prospered by their presence.
The two greats somehow have not really pulled their national sides to any great heights. The question asked is what could they do in Brazil to take their teams into the knockout rounds.
While Messi has had a troublesome year - with questions of tax evasion and injury problems - Ronaldo has grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons. The Portuguese star scored an impressive 17 Champions League goals, leading Real Madrid to 'La Decima', their 10th European Cup.
The magician from Madeira scored 31 goals in the La Liga this season, the joint highest in any European league. Liverpool's Luis Suarez shared the European Golden Shoe with Ronaldo.
But things will be very different for Ronaldo at the World Cup. While at Real Madrid, Ronaldo is the biggest star in a side boasting of many other big names. He will not have the luxury of playing with top-notch players when he turns up for Portugal. He will have to singularly carry the weight of an entire nation.
For Messi, it will be a make or break World Cup year. The diminutive Argentine scored 28 league goals in a Spanish season blighted by injury problems.
His club Barcelona also had a tumultuous year, losing the Spanish league on the final day to Atletico Madrid and were also knocked out by the same opponents in the Champions League quarters.
Messi's biggest fear this year in Brazil, though, will be to remove the tag of an underperformer at football's showpiece event.
The Barca star has been constantly criticised for not performing when he's away from his club teammates. Messi's talent has come into question without the exploits of Barca midfield maestros Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
With Argentina in his first World Cup as a 19-year-old in Germany 2006, Messi played sporadically, but became the sixth youngest player to score a goal in Cup history.
In South Africa four years later, under the guidance of Diego Maradona, Messi did not find the net.
This year could be a little different, though. Argentine stars like Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria have been in sparkling form for their club teams and with the World Cup in their home continent, Messi and Co. could finally set the record straight.
Neymar (Brazil): Brazil's go-to man was embroiled in one of the biggest scandals to hit European football.
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell resigned after a federal judge began legal proceedings to potentially indict Rosell of embezzlement.
An investigation revealed FC Barcelona actually paid a total of 95 million euros to sign the Brazilian striker, with a big chunk of that going into hidden contracts that stipulated substantial fees for the footballer's father and former club Santos FC.
Neymar's footballing exploits, however, have been a hit with the diehard Catalan fans. His skills on the wings made Barca a deadly threat. The Brazilian also took on the mantle of being the main man after Messi's injury.
This could definitely be Neymar's year. Host nation Brazil are one of the favourites and much needed European experience for stars like Oscar, Willian, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Ramires and Paulinho means the World Cup could once again be lifted by the 'Selecao'.
Eden Hazard (Belgium): Belgium are considered one of the dark-horses of the 2014 World Cup.
And one of the main threats coming out of the Belgian ranks would be Chelsea winger Eden Hazard.
Hazard had his best English Premier League season with the Chelsea and will be one of the key men for Belgium in Brazil.
Diego Costa (Spain): The controversial Brazilian striker who will be playing for Spain in the World Cup has become one of the most sough-after stars in club football.
He scored 36 goals in all competitions for Atletico Madrid, leading them to the Champions League final and La Liga title.
He will be the main man for Spain and the fans will be hoping that he recovers from injury in time and help them to the second consecutive World Cup.
(Santosh Rao is an IANS sports correspondent. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at santosh.r@ians.in)
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