Owen Hargreaves : Beginning of the end?

Last week as most football lovers saw the bizarre yet dramatic clash between Manchester united and Chelsea, the blue half of Manchester and some die hard English faithful were anxiously awaiting the “ debut” of Owen Hargreaves in their Carling Cup opening match against defending champions Birmingham. It was a night of muted celebrations when Calgary bred Owen Hargreaves scored a scorcher against Birmingham to not only lead City to the fourth round of the Carling Cup, but also help forget the painful memories at city neighbours Manchester United. I am not going on to criticize the United Medical Team ,something which Hargreaves openly confesses. I am well verse with the stance of football players which changes even faster than the unpredictable English weather( Any cricket fan would surely agree !!!) .

Owen Hargreaves, born in Canada to an English father and a Welsh mother has had a similar set of contrasting fortunes in his long career. He became the second player to represent England without taking part in the English football setup. A legend at Bayern Munich, he is still a crowd favourite at the Allianz Arena and we can understand his disappointment at missing out on a memorable night for him tomorrow night in the champions league, a feeling which he has rarely tasted these past few years. He won four German League trophies and one Champions League before Manchester United came calling in 2007 on the back of some memorable performance in World Cup 2006.

Ask any passionate English supporter and he would tell you that he was not only the man of the tournament for them, but probably the only player with a never say die zeal to win for England, a country as alien to him as Ghana is to Danny Welbeck. We can never forget his tireless runs and his single handed determination to lead England out of the mess which they found themselves in against Portugal in the quarter finals. Winning the hearts of the England supporters, he became a legend in their eyes outshining even the bigger “celebrities” in the garb of the English footballers that summer.

His tenure at Manchester United started with a bang as he collected a Premier League medal and a second Champions League winners medal, a feat rarely accomplished by other footballers. Yet his downward spiral to the dreaded walls of hospital began and he hardly got a chance to play for the United team later. If truth be told, Ferguson always understood the quality of this mercurial midfielder and was patient about his situation. But with his medical status improving little and proven performers coming into the squad, it was evident that Owen would be seeking greener pastures once he becomes fit . Not to forget about the club regularly compensating his bloated weekly wages and the astronomical sums of money on his treatment.

His videos on Youtube spoke volumes of his desperation and frustration developing inside him due to the lack of opportunities. He was ready to roll of the dice for one last time and Manchester City eventually came calling. Although highly skeptical as to how the new acquisition would turn out, Mancini finally gave him what he had been looking for, a start in a match. So what if it is a Carling Cup tie. This was the world for him and he didn’t disappoint.

So a new start beckons for one of the most promising yet under tested figure, along with Jonathan Woodgate, an everpresent person on the treatment table, Owen Hargreaves is probably another player who could have had a sterling career in the Three Lions Shirt. Yet all is not yet over for Owen and hopefully he would be present in the squad for next summer, lofting the EURO 2012 high up amidst the rapturous celebrations of the English Army of Supporters.