Michael Owen says Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney didn't appear himself in South Africa.
He is one of the few people who can empathise with what Rooney, who had a dreadfully disappointing World Cup, is going through.
"I have faced that situation," said Owen. "Some players can get crushed by the criticism, but pressure is Wayne's life. He lives with pressure every single game." Owen believes it was not the pressure that got to Rooney, but perhaps fitness, unhappiness with the system, or tiredness.
He added: "That was not Rooney playing out there. Whether he was feeling the effects of the season, we don't know."
