Tomorrow marks Wayne Rooney’s 30th Birthday and rather than wondering how so many years have flown us by since he burst onto the scene with that wonder goal against Arsenal in 2002, we’re having a bit of a party here at Football Fancast.
Indeed, we’ve already plowed through the Shrek-shaped birthday cake, given each other amateur hair transplants and even invited a few local grannies to FFC towers to help us celebrate. But somewhere in between all the raucous festivities, we’ve also found time to relive the most defining moments of Wazza Roo’s incredible career.
There have certainly been many, almost too many to count, but we’ve managed to trim them down to eleven that summarise Manchester United captain’s career perfectly.
Some are good, some are bad, some are amazing and some are ugly, but all capture the essence, talent and achievements of the Red Devils and England star better than words ever could.
Remember the name…
Where else to begin than the goal that started it all, spring-boarding the striker to superstardom and immortalising Clive Tyldesley’s declaration ‘Remember the name…Wayne Rooney’.
Aged 16, Rooney will still on an apprentice contract in 2002 – yet produced the quality to end Arsenal’s 30-game undefeated streak. This goal, still one of the United skipper’s greatest, heralded the many more incredible moments to come.
England account at 17
A matter of months after becoming the Premier League’s youngest ever goalscorer, soon beaten by James Milner, Wazza Roo repeated the feat for England with this goal against Macedonia.
To this day, it is still one of his best England performances – his inaugural strike galvanising a two-goal comeback in the second half.
EURO 2004
Potentially at the peak of his powers with the benefit of hindsight, the England international was the star of the show at Euro 2004, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the tournament’s history and bagging four goals in four appearances.
Unfortunately, Rooney’s dream became a nightmare upon being stretchered off in the quarter-finals with a broken toe. England were eliminated on penalties by Portugal but Rooney claimed a spot in the Team of the Tournament.
HAT-TRICK ON UNITED DEBUT
Rooney’s phenomenal progress earned him a £25.6million move to Manchester United immediately following Euro 2004 but despite his heroics for England and flashes of brilliance for Everton, not everybody was convinced by the 18 year-old’s price-tag – at the time, the highest fee ever paid for a teenager.
The striker soon put doubts to rest, however, scoring a hat-trick against Fenerbahce on his Red Devils and Champions League debut. He’s gone on to claim 36 goals from 89 appearances in Europe’s top competition.
SENDING OFF AGAINST PORTUGAL
Fast forward two years and it was even more international heartbreak for the United icon – once again at the hands of Portugal.
Rooney infamously struggled to contain his competitive streak as a youngster, picking up more yellow cards than goals for Everton, and that manifested at the 2006 World Cup with a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho.
For a second tournament in a row, England lost a quarter-final penalty shootout to Portugal in the absence of their star striker.
WINNING THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Rooney has achieved many great things in his career and won more titles than most could dream of, but in terms of prestige and reputation, nothing tops him winning the Champions League with the Red Devils in 2008.
With the Premier League at the height of its powers, United met Chelsea for the showdown in Moscow. Rooney didn’t get on the score sheet and was subbed off before the penalty shootout, but made a vital contribution to United’s third European title as part of an attacking trio that also included Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
WORLD CUP RANT
Probably the Birthday boy’s most infamous moment, at least in terms of on the pitch – his World Cup rant in South Africa.
Rooney had entered the tournament as the PFA Player of the Year and much was expected of an England side that possessed a ‘golden generation’ coming towards the end of its peaks.
But the Three Lions struggled to live up to their billing at the 2010 World Cup and travelling supporters unleashed a rapture of jeers as England endured a scoreless draw with Algeria in Rustenburg, provoking this expletive response from the United captain.
Some condemned Rooney, others understood his frustrations. At another disappointing tournament, England were eliminated by fierce rivals Germany in the round of 16.
2010 Transfer Request
An episode which demonstrated a somewhat more calculated and ruthless side to Wayne Rooney, the England skipper shocked United fans around the globe when he handed in a transfer request in October 2010.
He cited concerns over a lack of ambition amid United’s failure to find a direct replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been sold to Real Madrid for £80million the year before, but undermined his argument by signing a five-year contract just a matter of days later.
The striker has described it as one of his biggest mistakes yet whether his motivation was footballing or financial remains open to interpretation.
THE CITY BICYCLE KICK
A miraculous goal that speaks for itself and will always have a place in the annals of Premier League history.
Rooney’s transfer request and struggle for form had cast a shadow over United during the 2010/11 campaign but it was lifted with this stunning strike in the Manchester derby. The Red Devils went on to win the title that year – Rooney’s fourth since moving to Old Trafford.
ENGLAND AND MANCHESTER UNITED CAPTAINCIES
Once a renegade teenager seemingly incapable of controlling his own strength and aggression, by 2014 Rooney had matured into captain material.
As Nemanja Vidic headed for Inter Milan and Steven Gerrard stepped down from international football, Rooney found himself anointed both England and United skipper in the space of just three weeks.
It was testament to not only the forward’s well-established quality, but also his phenomenal work ethic, team spirit, experience and increasing professionalism when in the public eye.
England’s all-time leading goal scorer
Rooney’s latest achievement but unquestionably his most profound. Albeit under the rather unglamorous circumstances of an almost-saved penalty against Switzerland, he became England’s all-time leading goal scorer with this effort in September.
Rooney’s still got his critics but you can’t argue with such a historic achievement – if anything else, a testament to the longevity in which he’s remained at the very top of the beautiful game.