World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

WayneROONEY
24. 10. 85 ;Everton
England
WayneRooney’s fourgoalsatEuro
2004 catapultedhimoutofhishigh
domesticorbitandintotheinternational
stratosphere.Thelevel of expectation
theEvertonteenagermust now
shoulderis farbeyondeventhe
fussthathas gone before.
Remarkableenoughwerethe
unreservedwords of praisefrom
EnglandcoachSven-GoranEriksson,
whosaid:“He’s absolutelyfantastic,
notonlyatscoringgoalsbutthe way
heplaysfootball– he’sa complete
footballer. He deservesall theattention
andallthe front-pageheadlines.
I sometimesfeelI shouldn’tsay too
much,buthehasbeenabsolutely
incredible.
“Idon’ttrytotellhimhowtoscore
goals.I couldn’t.Allwe do is tell him
sometacticalthingsweneedthe
strikerstodo.Otherwise,technically,
itisbetter I don’tsayanything
becausehisvisionisincredible.
“I’veworkedwithmanyoutstanding
youngtalents – suchasRuiCosta,
RobertoBaggio,PauloSousa- but
Rooney is thebest forthewayheboth
playshisfootballandscoreshisgoals.
“Hedoesnotmakealotoffussor
talka lot,hejustgoesout anddoes
it.He’s notworriediftheoppositionis
France,Croatia,SwitzerlandorTurkey.
It’slikehe’sgoingoutona school pitch
andsaying:‘Givemethe ball andI will
enjoymyself.’Healsohashisfeetvery,
verymuchontheground.”
Erikssonwas alsoasked,famously,
tocompare Rooney’s impact with that
ofthe youngPeleatthe 1 958 World
Cup.Withinminutes theissuehad
balloonedwayoutofcontextbecause
theoriginalissuewasnotabout
individualsbutimpact.
Thesamemighthavebeenasked,
inWorldCup terms,aboutAmarildo
forBrazil in 1962,PaoloRossiforItaly
in 1978 and Toto Schillacifor Italyin
19 90;inEuropeanChampionship
terms about DieterMullerin 1976
andEnzo Scifo in 1984.
Infact,PeledidnotattendEuro 2004
and,whileimpressedbya fewTVclips,
wasin no realpositiontoassessthe
media’spretendereitherway.
Timeresolvedthe questionanyway.
Pelewasatournamentwinnerback
in 19 58;Rooneyhadlonglimpedoff
homebythetimeEuro 2004 was
wrappedup.Out of sightbut
certainlynotoutofmind.
KeirRadnedge