Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney
Personal information
Full name	Wayne Mark Rooney
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Manchester United
Number	8
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 July 2006

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool) is an English footballer considered by some to be one of the best young talents in English football.

His boyhood team was always Everton and his made his debut at just 16. His love for his home town club was famously bore out when he wore a T-shirt reading "Once a blue, Always a blue". This loyalty was proved false however, and he shortly demanded a move to a bigger club, this lost him the respect of many football fans.

His current employers are Manchester United based near Manchester and the England national football team. He normally played as a second striker to Ruud van Nistelrooy for his club team before van Nistelrooy's move to Real Madrid C.F., although during 2005-06, he has shown his versatility as a player by shifting to the midfield and playing on both flanks. He wears number 8 for his club team and wears number 9 for his national team.

Rooney was brought up in an urban area of eastern Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended the local De La Salle Catholic School.

Although he has been under an intense media spotlight since first arriving on the scene in 2002, it was not until his performances at the Euro 2004 that he gained a reputation on the world stage, as he spearheaded the English attack, scoring four goals. England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson compared his impact to that made by the legendary Brazilian, Pelé, at a similar age during the 1958 World Cup. When Portugal's current coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was asked to compare Pelé to Rooney, he replied, "One was class, honest and a gentleman and the other is Rooney."

Career

Premiership breakthrough

Rooney gained national prominence in October 2002 when he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Premiership at 16 years and 360 days while playing for Everton F.C. (though this record has since been surpassed twice). His goal against then-champions Arsenal was a last-minute winner. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Young Personality of the Year award.

National team career

He has also figured prominently in recent England international matches, after having become the youngest ever player to play for England, in a friendly against Australia, on February 12, 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days. This record has since been surpassed by Theo Walcott, who came off the bench to play in England's friendly against Hungary on May 30, 2006. England's youngest ever player previous to Rooney was James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries before, on April 5, 1879, aged 17 years, 253 days. Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317 days).

His reputation as one of the world's most exciting young players was further enhanced by his impressive performances for England at Euro 2004 in Portugal. At the tournament Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in the European Football Championships, when on 17 June 2004 he scored twice against Switzerland; although the Swiss player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record against France four days later. Unfortunately Rooney was injured early in the quarter final match against Portugal and England were subsequently knocked out.

World Cup 2006 doubts

There was concern for Rooney's fitness ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup after the fourth metatarsal on his right foot was broken, possibly in several places, following a seemingly innocuous challenge from Paulo Ferreira during Manchester United's 3-0 defeat away at Chelsea on April 29, 2006, putting him out of action for an estimated six weeks.

A bone scan on 25 May 2006 suggested he would not be expected to return in time for the World Cup group ties, with a decision to be made on his return to training after these games had passed. Shortly afterwards his international manager confirmed he would travel with the squad to Germany, and would return to have another bone scan on 7 June. Ahead of this scan, Wayne claimed to be feeling fine and was "300% confident" of his own fitness. Rooney was reported to be back, doing light training on 2 June, working on kicking the ball and running.

On June 7, Wayne Rooney had his second scan, with reports saying he would play in the World Cup as he boarded a flight to Baden-Baden to regroup with the England squad.

On June 8, Sven-Göran Eriksson said that he was "injury free" and that "he just needs to get back his fitness before he can play". Eriksson hinted at a possible involvement in the later group stage matches and almost certainly, should England progress, in the second round of the competition.

On June 15, Sven-Göran Eriksson and FA doctors declared Rooney match fit in time for the match against Trinidad & Tobago. Prior to the match there was much speculation as to whether his health would be risked by playing him at this stage; the speculation was ended when he entered the match in the 58th minute, replacing Michael Owen. Although Rooney did not score, England's fans were keen to see him running with pace (as if he was match fit many weeks before his medical clearance) and making his presence felt on the attack. On June 18, Eriksson announced that Rooney would be starting England's next game. Rooney's rush into play was much to the dismay of his club team, Manchester United, who were concerned that a full recovery would be jeopardized.

On June 20, Rooney started in the final group match, England against Sweden, helping England to a 2-2 draw.

On June 25, Rooney once again started in England's second round game (knock-out rounds) against Ecuador. Although he failed to score, he looked lively and appeared to be fully fit and definitely match fit.

On July 1, Rooney was sent off in the quarter final against Portugal while fighting for posession with Chelsea FC and Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho. Rooney stamped down on Carvalho's groin and was sent off by referee, Horacio Elizondo. Rooney later announced, through the serialisation of his biography in the Daily Mail, that the stamp on Ricardo Carvalho was indeed intentional. He became only the third English player to be sent off in a World Cup Finals. Due to his sending off, he will miss England's opening Euro 2008 qualifier against Andorra on 2 September.

Sadly for all his hype, Rooney had failed to score in the Finals themselves or any of the qualifiers during the previous 2 seasons. Many had questioned Svens decision to include such an unproven goal scorer in the squad, especially when considering the light wieght nature of the other strikers.

Transfers

Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on a council estate. That has since been raised several times and Rooney now earns an estimated £51,755 a week. Following intense media coverage of Rooney at the 2004 European Championships, Everton claimed that they would not transfer his contract for less than £50 million. The club offered Rooney a new contract for £12,000 a week for three years. This, however, was turned down by Rooney's agent on the 27 August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete for his signature.

The Times newspaper reported that Newcastle were close to signing the young star for £18.5 million, a fact later confirmed by Rooney's agent. Manchester United reacted simply to prevent one of the countries best young talents going to one of their direct competitors. This action annoyed many in the game, with United's bottomless riches again buying them the ability to stifle teams around them. Rooney handed in a transfer request to Everton and on 31 August, Rooney signed for Manchester United after a deal worth around £31 million (£49 million including wages) was agreed. The deal was concluded just hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £23m is to be paid to Everton Football Club over two years; the rest of the money depends on appearances and/or success at Manchester United and/or England. It is likely the fee will reach the maximum £31m within the next 3 years. A final fee in the region of £33m plus costs (mainly player bonus', ex wages) is more likely. In the club's 2004-05 accounts, Rooney's contract is recorded as having a book cost of £25.066 million as at 30 June 2005, with contingent payables of £14 million, giving a maximum final fee of £39.066 million including costs. [1]

Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an exclusively British deal, with only his Manchester United team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, commanding a higher fee. Rooney does, however, have the honour of being the most expensive teenage footballer ever, being only 18 when Manchester United signed him.

Rooney made his debut for the club on 28 September, 2004 in the UEFA Champions League against Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and also an assist (the match finished in a 6-2 win for United). For the 2005-06 season, Rooney initially started playing in wider positions than his more favoured central role. Pundits and fans alike agreed that he seemed less effective in such positions. Eventually, after Manchester United's poor run of form early in the season, Sir Alex Ferguson moved him back to his stronger position, playing behind Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy as a second striker. He got his first professional Winners Medal in the 2006 English League Cup. He was also named the Man of The Match in the Carling Cup final against Wigan Athletic, after scoring 2 goals in the final (a 4-0 victory for United), en route to winning his first senior medal. He was also a member of the United side defeated in the 2005 FA Cup final by Arsenal.

2004 Court Case

In and around 2002 there was a dispute between two groups over who had the right to manage Rooney and this led to a criminal trial after allegations that one side was trying to demand money with menaces from the other. The court was told that one group sought the help of the infamous London gangster Tommy Adams (Clerkenwell crime syndicate) in resolving the dispute.

Disciplinary issues

Wayne Rooney's career has been tainted with moments of ill-discipline. In September 2005, against Northern Ireland, Rooney launched an on-field outburst at former England captain David Beckham, but since then, the pair have played down the bust-up.

His ill-discipline led to his dismissal in the 0-0 draw with Villarreal during United's Champions League encounter in Spain. Rooney was sent off for dissent following his sarcastic applauding of the referee, Kim Milton Nielsen, after he was initially booked for what he felt was an unfair booking.

Rooney has pledged to keep his temper under control and both his club and international managers have defended him, citing his youth as the main reason for his behaviour. It is known that other teams and players are familiar with Rooney's disciplinary problems and sometimes use them against him, teasing him or provoking him. Since the 2004-05 season he has been trying to keep his temper in check, as shown by a drop in cards received in the 2005-06 season.

During the FIFA World Cup 2006 match between England and Sweden, Rooney was substituted out in the 70th minute. Rooney, on his way to the bench, punched one of the boxes very aggressively, and then he threw off his shoes angrily.[2] England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson later explained this as Rooney being angry with the manager for substituting him.

In the quarter-final match with Portugal, Rooney was sent off after an incident during the 62nd minute of the match. He became only the third English player to be given a red card while playing a match in a World Cup Finals. Rooney was struggling to gain proper control of the ball as he was involved in a tangle with Ricardo Carvalho and Armando Petit, during which he stamped hard on Carvalho's groin. The incident occurred right in front of Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo. As play was stopped, Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo, a fellow teammate of his at Manchester United, remonstrated with the referee to take action against Rooney. Rooney then violently pushed Ronaldo and was shown the red card for what was thought to be a combination of the incidents involving Carvalho and Ronaldo[3]. However, on July 4, Elizondo told The Times that the red card was due to the stamp on Carvalho, and not the scuffle afterwards. He said "It was violent play and therefore he got a red card. People can say what they want (about Ronaldo) but this had absolutely no influence. For me it was a clear red card, so I didn't react to the Portuguese players."[4]

After the match, the BBC pundit team, led by Gary Lineker, showed a clip of what they found interesting in light of Rooney's dismissal. Before the match, Rooney's Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo approached him from behind and aggressively placed his head close to Rooney before speaking directly into his ear [5]. Rooney's reaction and the look on Ronaldo's face suggested that the act was far from playful. Following Rooney's dismissal, Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portuguese bench.[6]. Cristiano Ronaldo said in a post-match press conference that he had not urged the referee to take out a red card, but just pointed out that Rooney had committed a foul.

On July 3, Rooney released a statement saying, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not team-mates." He also claimed that his actions were accidental. He also defended his own actions in the statement: "I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Ricardo Carvalho. He slid in from behind me and unfortunately ended up in a positioning where my foot was inevitably going to end up as I kept my balance. That's all there was to it. When the referee produced the red card I was amazed - gobsmacked."[7]

Wayne Rooney was investigated by FIFA's disciplinary committee after being sent off during England's World Cup quarter-final defeat against Portugal, banned for two competitive matches and fined 5,000 Swiss francs [8].

Rooney was sent off again for Manchester United in an Amsterdam Tournament game against FC Porto on August 4 for the alleged use of an elbow.

Personal life

Rooney has rarely been out of the media spotlight since his amazing goal against Arsenal in October 2002, and has received criticism for his relationship with fiancée Coleen McLoughlin, who is often featured in the tabloid press for her shopping habits. They currently live in a £4.25 million mansion in the village of Prestbury in Cheshire. His girlfriend is supposed to be pregnant

Press accusations

Rooney's personal life has also often been marred by accusations from the press surrounding his visits to prostitutes, which he later confirmed to be true.

In April 2006, newspapers suggested that he owed in excess of £700,000 in gambling debts, possibly connected to a business partner of Michael Owen. Days later, he accepted £100,000 (which he donated to charity) in libel damages from The Sun and News of the World newspapers which had claimed he had assaulted his fiancée in a nightclub.

Publishing deal

On 9 March 2006, Rooney signed the largest sports book deal in publishing history with the publishers HarperCollins. He is to receive a £5 million advance, plus royalties, for a minimum of five books to be published over a twelve-year period. The first book, an autobiography, is scheduled to be published after the World Cup.

Trivia

• He scored a hat-trick on his debut for United against Fenerbahçe SK in the UEFA Champions League.
• Wayne Rooney didn't achieve a single GCSE.
• Rooney's childhood football hero is former England and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer.
• The April 18, 2006 issue of the respected German soccer magazine Kicker featured an article about Rooney (p. 79 and 80), and the following facts were presented:
  • Rooney has signed lucrative contracts with Nike, Nokia, Ford, Asda and Coca Cola. His marketing value is estimated at €46 million, making him the third-highest rated football player behind Ronaldinho and David Beckham. As a side note, he is featured on 500 million Coca-Cola cans.
  • Rooney's autobiography earned him a record advance payment of €7.5 million.
  • When he moved to Manchester United and was told to find a home in the posh area of Cheshire, Rooney passed a pub which he thought was named "Admiral Rooney" and saw it as a good omen for his future home. It was actually "Admiral Rodney", but Rooney chose the place, Prestbury, anyway.
  • His favourite foods are corn dogs, salad, sausages, eggs, chips and baked beans, and his favourite drink is Diet Coke.
  • Rooney's favourite musicians are rappers Eminem and 50 Cent . His favourite film is Grease, and his favourite TV series is Only Fools And Horses. Moreover, he is an avid reader of the Harry Potter series.
  • He enjoys boxing, and idolises Mike Tyson.
• The Daily Mirror "Scorer" cartoon strip features a young, brash, anti-social character called Wayne Sutton, based in part on Rooney's on-field antics.
• Rooney has not scored a competitive goal for England since Euro 2004.
• Rooney has a cross tattoo on his upper arm.
• Rooney is nicknamed 'Wazza'
• Rooney was "Merk'd" (the equivalent to the American TV Show "Punk'd") by his Manchester United and England team mate, Rio Ferdinand on a mini-series TV show build up to the World Cup, "World Cup Wind Ups".
• Rooney's lawyers are going to the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organisation in August 2006 to try to gain ownership of the internet domain names "waynerooney.com" and "waynerooney.co.uk". The names are currently owned by Welsh TV personality Huw Marshall who registered the names four years ago [9]

Quotes

• "Wayne can be a dirty player, but he never dives. Ever." - Sir Alex Ferguson
• "I'm not trying to unsettle him or tap him up, but Wayne Rooney is a player I like. It's true I may try to do a deal this summer." Arsène Wenger
• "You go through all the greats at Manchester United and you've certainly got to put him in there." George Best
• "He is a phenomenal player and has all the attributes and talent to be a huge star of the finals. In many ways, Rooney reminds me of myself because he is arrogant and wants the ball all the time." Diego Maradona
• "His potential is almost limitless."- Rio Ferdinand
• "He's gonna be challenging me and Thierry Henry for the World Player of the year accolade in 5 years or so." Ronaldinho

External links

Profiles

• waynerooneyclub.com - Official Biography Site
• manutd.com
• thefa.com - The Football Association
• Photo Gallery
• SkySports.com
• Soccernet.com
• FootyMania.com
• soccerfanatics.net
• FootballDatabase

Fan page

• Wayne Rooney Online

News stories about Wayne Rooney

• Rooney named European 'Golden Boy'
• Wayne Rooney diary from 2004 European Football Championship
• Rooney secures PFA young player award 2005
• Rooney dropped by school chiefs
• Rooney signs record £5m book deal
• Rooney and Nike Billboard Controversy

Videos

• Alleged stamping incident on Ricardo Carvalho in 2006 World Cup Quarter Final.
• Wayne's first premiership goal vs Arsenal in 2002/2003 season.