Barclays Premier League managers have hailed Manchester United's Wayne Rooney as pivotal to England's hopes of lifting the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1966. However, they believe Argentina talisman Lionel Messi will be the star of the tournament whilst most are tipping Brazil to claim their sixth world crown.Barclays, title sponsor of the League Managers Association (LMA), asked the managers about their predictions surrounding this year's tournament, and Rooney was unanimously chosen as England's most important player following his most prolific season in the Barclays Premier League.
According to the survey, 59 per cent believe Rooney will also be amongst the top three stand-out players in this year's tournament, with 82 per cent of the managers citing Argentina's Lionel Messi as the player set to make the biggest impact in South Africa.
Liverpool hitman Fernando Torres is seen as the player from the Barclays Premier League most likely to bring home the Golden Boot from South Africa with 47 per cent of the vote, ahead of Rooney (41%) and Manchester City and Argentina striker Carlos Tevez (12%).
53% of Barclays Premier League bosses think Brazil will claim an unprecedented sixth World Cup ahead of European Champions Spain (24%), with 12 per cent seeing Diego Maradona's talented Argentina side as potential dark-horses to be crowned champions of the world.
When asked who they thought might prove to be the tournament's surprise package, 41 per cent plumped for 1998 champions France, while a further 18 per cent predicted Sven Goran Eriksson's Ivory Coast to progress from the so-called 'Group of Death' and enjoy a successful tournament on their home continent.
South America still produces the world's best footballers according to Barclays Premier League managers (71%), although 29 % believe that Africa will be the continent that produces the stars of the future over the coming decade.
To view the full survey, visit the Barclays Football Facebook page: Facebook.com/BarclaysFootball
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