I grew up watching Wayne Rooney play. I’ve seen him go from being an extremely talented young prodigy to one of the best players in the world to a bench player surplus to requirements at the same club. I’ve seen his career come full circle. There are a lot of supporters of my age who’ve witnessed this particular journey of his, and I can say that all of us are going through different feelings now that he has left Manchester United.
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For me, it is pure nostalgia. The good memories, and the bad ones too. The goals scored, the trophies won, the transfer sagas, the last two years. My affinity towards Rooney had been on both sides of the spectrum during different points of his time at United. Most of the times he was the player I would look forward to watching the most. The sight of him in the team made my blood boil the rest of the times.
Rooney had been at United ever since I started watching football – the 08/09 season - right after United won the Champions League in Moscow. That was the season Cristiano Ronaldo had made it clear he wanted to wear the white of Real Madrid as soon as possible.
Supporters knew they had to move onto another cult hero.
After the season ended, Ronaldo duly shifted base to Madrid and the stage was set for Rooney to step out of Ronaldo’s shadow and be the leader of United’s forward line. And boy did he deliver! Even though United lost the title to Chelsea, that season, for me, it was Rooney’s best. 2009/10 was when Wayne Rooney truly became the player people will talk about for years to come.
He flourished in the spotlight and the goals kept on coming. He scored in the league and in Europe as well. The round-of-16 tie against Milan where he scored three goals over two legs – firmly stamping his mark on Europe as one of the continent’s most prolific goalscorers. United’s season went slightly off-track when he was injured towards the end, which was the primary reason why United lost the league to Chelsea and crashed out of the Champions League earlier than people expected.
However, 34 goals in 44 games is no mean feat.
Rooney was supposed to fire England to a deep run at the World Cup in 2010 but that too ended up as a massive failure on his part – which was also the case in the two other World Cups he played in viz. 2006 and 2014.
The first half of the 2010/11 season was simply heart-breaking for me as a fan. To see the man I adored so much say that he does not want to play for my beloved club anymore was not easy to take. The saga that followed made me anxious by the day.
I used to grab the newspaper, switch over to the last page and anxiously read through it to see if there were updates. He ended up staying with a massive pay-rise and a bitter taste in the mouths of several supporters who expected him to stay at the club for a long time and lead the line for years to come.
He blamed the ambition of the club, and to think he wanted to leave for our bitter rivals and cross-city neighbours makes it even more perplexing as to how the supporters actually decided to forgive him.
The piece of magic he produced against the same team he wanted to join a few months ago definitely helped. Even today, I get goose bumps as I see him jump and position his body to strike the ball which was so high up in the air on his first touch. The contact he made, the placement, Martin Tyler’s absolutely terrific commentary and the situation- everything about that goal was perfect.
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I wonder how many jaws were dropped and how many voiceboxes became dysfunctional due to the excessive screaming. The disbelief it caused among the football community was absolutely spectacular. It still is, quite simply, the best goal I’ve witnessed. United ended up winning the league and reached the final of the Champions League – where they fell short to an absolutely dazzling Barcelona side. However, the only goal scored in the final- again by Rooney – was a piece of beauty and is criminally underrated by football folklore.
The next season – 2011/12 – started off with a bang. The Rooney of 09/10 was back. The 8-2 embarrassment of Arsenal at Old Trafford was Wayne Rooney at his absolute best. He controlled the whole game as he liked. Even though United crashed out really early in the Champions League and lost the league title in a manner that still crushes the heart as I type this sentence right now.
Rooney, in fact, scored throughout the season. He ended the season with 34 goals in 43 games, absolutely world class figures for a striker in the Premier League who also plays in the Champions League.
Beginning of the end?
Robin van Persie joined from Arsenal in 2012/13 as Sir Alex Ferguson did not want to leave any stones unturned in what was going to be his last season as United’s boss. Rooney was no longer the main striker and was instead played all over the place.
It can be said that Sir Alex used his biggest strength against him. His versatility has been so overused ever since that season that no one knows what his best position is anymore. In fact, we don’t even know if there is a best position. However, the goals and the trophies were special, but what made him stand out is the pure commitment and passion he has once he is on the football field.
Rooney has always been a very fierce competitor, of the type who is never afraid to have a go at the opposition or the referee or scream at a teammate who is slacking off.
In fact, one of his greatest strikes- the one against Newcastle where he laced it into the top left corner from a long way out – came seconds after a tiff with the referee. The fire in him is what made me and a million others fall in love with him and the same fire is the reason he played in whatever role the manager assigned him.
United won the league but Rooney had a fall-out with Ferguson by the time the season ended and when the Scot retired it was the incoming David Moyes’ job to deal with the situation. After continuous links with Chelsea, he finally signed a new deal and again had a wage increase.
Even though supporters were not as salty as the last time around, but a lot of people felt that United danced to his tune, yet again. But it turned out that the club needed him the most at that time – as he was one of the few bright spots in the 2013/14 season which was doomed from the start.
However, Rooney started playing deeper, and as managers and systems changed in the following seasons – he kept on shifting to midfield. In fact, now it seems like he has completely lost his touch as a forward and his shooting boots are not going to fit him anymore.
The former England skipper’s decline over the last few years has been frustrating to watch for someone who has seen him at the peak of his game. To see him lose his first touch, miss sitters, lose his pace and see him fall short in situations where there only used be one winner a few years ago is pure emotional torture.
His journey towards mediocrity always reminds me of how good this player was not long ago. Whenever the talk of him having peaked already was there, I used to laugh it off saying that he will age like wine and eventually become a midfield maestro like Paul Scholes. However, he never settled in that role and a move to Everton will hopefully stop him from becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none.
Even though Rooney seemed like a burden as his career at United was in its twilight, I only have respect for him for his dedication. It was really satisfying when he scored that free kick to become United’s all-time top scorer.
Players retired, moved on or were sold but Wayne stayed amidst it all. And I only have respect for the player he was on the pitch, in spite of all the flaws and the drama. I can only hope we get to see him in blue playing more like the player he was than like the player he has become.
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