Can Rooney live up to expectations?
Sven-Goran Eriksson's farewell press conference as England coach after his team's loss from the 2006 World Cup saw him display a hitherto hidden caring side.
England had played much of its quarterfinal in Gelsenkirchen with a man down because, in aiming his studs at the nether regions of Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho, Wayne Rooney had blown his famously short fuse. Without their attacking fulcrum, England had floundered in the German midsummer heat. Yet Eriksson defended the then-20-year-old to the hilt as he addressed the massed corps of Her Majesty's Press. "I think you, much more than me, need Wayne Rooney," said the Swede, in tones much harder than his usual hush. "He is the golden boy of English football. Don't kill him, I beg you, because you will need him."
With a place in South Africa now booked, England's need of Rooney's talents has not abated. He enters the latter stages of the qualifying tournament as the leading scorer from the UEFA confederation as England makes serene progress to the finals. Finally granted the central role for club and country he has long desired, 2010 is the year Rooney is expected to make the leap toward becoming a truly great player.
For a young man whose roll of honor already includes a Champions League winner's medal and three Premier League titles to be considered as not having achieved his potential could seem unfair. However, such was his explosion onto the stage that the footballing public continues to want more. His broad shoulders have carried the burden of expectations since a thunderbolt of a goal scored for Everton at Arsenal in October 2002 converted him into an instant star.
That last-minute winner, smashed with unerring power and precision beyond England keeper David Seaman, had been preceded by advance notices. Rumors of a potential world-beater in Everton's youth setup had been spreading for some time, and were furthered by the junior Toffees reaching the FA Youth Cup Final in May 2002. By then, Rooney had been training with the first team and had impressed on older teammates like David Weir a self-confidence that could not be explained away as a consequence of the brashness of youth. "From the minute he started training with us he felt he was the best player," Weir told The Guardian. "He always used to think he was the best, whether it would be in goal or at center-half. He said it like he meant it."
That air of self-assurance remained apparent when -- as a nation fretted hourly about the state of Rooney's fractured foot ahead of the 2006 World Cup -- he announced his training return to his England teammates with the words "The big man is back."
Publicly, Rooney comes across as shy, his voice a Liverpool whisper, his words often a set of the usual footballer platitudes. Wife Coleen, his sweetheart since schooldays, is the media-savvy half of a partnership that has obsessed the tabloids and women's weeklies ever since Rooney had England fans daring to dream at Euro 2004. Both have involved themselves in television programs, with Wayne far less successful in front of the cameras. Although Coleen enjoyed a hit with her "Real Women" show, "Wayne Rooney's Street Striker" saw her husband look nervy as he judged a group of youngsters on their urban freestyle footballing skills. Needless to say, his best moments came when he was handed a ball and asked to show off skills like landing a ball in a dumpster from fully 40 yards.
Such media exposure is now controlled in the manner prescribed by the management companies that look after the modern sportsman, and small wonder after some early headlines. First came a family brawl at the party to celebrate Rooney's engagement to Coleen. That was followed by a tabloid exposure of his visiting of a local brothel, an allegation proved by closed-circuit TV and the fact that he had signed an autograph while waiting for services to be rendered. Then there was the switching of agents as a 16-year-old, which, via lengthy court action, resulted in Paul Stretford, his representative, being banned from working as a football agent for 18 months.
Rooney arrived at Everton when he was 10, and his robust playing style still resembles that of the playground player, being born of years of playing in the streets of Croxteth, a tough district now most famous in the UK for a gangland culture that hit national headlines when 11-year-old Rhys Jones was gunned down in a pub parking lot by a teenage gangster. Rooney's footballing gifts, subsequent move to Manchester United and the cosseted Cheshire life he now enjoys have lifted him from an area riven by crime and unemployment.
His laborer father, also called Wayne Rooney, bequeathed him another pastime in boxing, in which the younger Wayne excelled at the local youth level. Boxing's discipline granted power to a stocky frame, and when Rooney eventually made his senior bow as a substitute at Tottenham on the opening day of the 2002-03 season, he was physically capable of Premier League rigors: a man-child.
That first season, which saw him become the Premier League's youngest-ever scorer and win his first caps for his country, included a notable blemish. Boxing Day 2002 saw him receive his first red card, for a brutal challenge on Birmingham's Steve Vickers. A fiercely competitive edge gloves a propensity to combust, and Rooney's many sendings-off have usually featured him blowing his top after being frustrated by opponents, officials and often teammates. That Gelsenkirchen explosion came after he had been forced to play a thankless lone striking role in blistering temperatures.
Eriksson made the mistake of not playing to Rooney's strengths, but he is by no means the only manager to take advantage of his versatility, boundless enthusiasm and willingness to get involved in all areas of the pitch. The 2009 Champions League final saw an unusually anonymous and clearly annoyed Rooney stuck out on Manchester United's left wing as Cristiano Ronaldo played center-forward. It was a bitter night for player, club and manager as Barcelona took Europe's crown.
The summer departure of Ronaldo to Real Madrid leaves Rooney as United's de facto main man, the player expected to provide inspiration. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has lately declared it is time for the Englishman to come out of his friend's shadow, with the added promise that he will be playing in the central role he has long campaigned for.
Ferguson has perhaps been paying attention to Rooney's performances for his country. Fabio Capello, a coach never keen on his players deviating from his brief, has urged Rooney to stay central and been rewarded with a glut of goals. The current qualifying campaign has seen his best international form since his performances at Euro 2004 had Eriksson comparing him to the very best. After two goals had sunk Croatia to put England into the quarterfinals, Eriksson showed uncharacteristic enthusiasm in saying: "I don't remember anyone making such an impact on a tournament since Pele in the 1958 World Cup." A young Sven had watched an 18-year-old Pele from the Swedish stands.
Moments like that -- and the Champions League hat trick Rooney scored in his Manchester United debut in September 2004, after they had paid £25.6 million to Everton -- leave us wanting more. There have been lulls in form, disciplinary problems and injury layoffs, but few in the game have ever doubted a potential that might just be fulfilled in South Africa.
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish threw off any rivalries with Everton or United when he told ESPN Soccernet: "For me, Wayne's as good as it gets. He's a fantastic footballer, and for me, he's going to get even better. He's really matured on the pitch. At 17 there was a lot of education needed, and he's done it. A lot of people have tried to pick him apart in some way, shape or form. But he just loves to play football, and he's fantastic at doing that."
Current Sunderland manager and former United captain Steve Bruce shares Dalglish's view. "Just ask any coach, ask any manager, 'Who would you like to have in your side?' and they will always tell you 'Wayne Rooney,'" Bruce told ESPNSoccernet.com. "This boy has all the attributes, plus an unbelievable desire to win. Yet he is still only 23. Christ almighty! What is he going to be like when he grows up?"
Rooney has done that growing up in public, and not just on the football field. He and Coleen await the imminent birth of their first child, and he has spoken of putting down roots at Old Trafford with his hope that "I'm still at United when I'm the same age as guys like Ryan Giggs, Scholesy [Paul Scholes] and Gary Neville." Whatever Rooney may have achieved in club football by then, he will likely be the player with the most appearances for England and, if he continues at his current rate, his country's all-time leading scorer. It is the least Rooney will expect of himself.
Steve Bruce speaks for all England fans when he says: "He's great for Manchester United, but it's even greater that he is English, and that there is a World Cup coming up."
John Brewin is the senior editor of soccernet.com.
