Ever-maturing Rooney rises above the rot
Bewilderment at the lengths to which their own people will go in a bid to screw up England’s World Cup preparations? Astonishment at the ineptitude which would allow such a security lapse to occur? Suspicion that the hand of the dreaded meeja must be in there somewhere? Sympathy for the victims who, however willingly high profile they might be, surely deserve to have some basic measure of privacy respected?
Of course not. If you’re anything like me, I’ll bet your very first thought was: damn, why didn’t someone think of that in Saipan?
Aye, what a tale that tape would tell.
Doubtless, the results of the bugging operation on the England team will emerge in due course, seeing as how the six-hour recording is now, as they say, “in the hands of a national newspaper”. The contents have already been described as “potentially embarrassing” which, when you consider that such class acts as John Terry must be on board, seems like an altogether redundant use of the word “potentially”.
As it happens, your correspondent has already heard the section of the tape pertaining to Fabio Capello’s tactical instructions but, in truth, there’s nothing here which will come as a surprise to anyone who knows their football.
Here, exclusively, is what the Italian maestro has to say: “Okay, I want you to score goals but also defend properly when you have to. You must not stop working and running for 90 minutes. You must pass well, make all your tackles count and cover every blade of grass on the pitch. And, at all times, you must lead by example on and off the park. Remember, the whole of England is looking to you to make the country proud and bring us glory in the World Cup. And I have total faith in your ability to deliver.
“Okay, thanks for listening, Wayne. Now would you mind sending in the rest of them?”
There’s no doubt the boy Rooney is the man of the moment, a powerful head and broad shoulders above the rest. Four goals over two legs in Manchester United’s comprehensive Champions League demolition job on Milan confirmed as much. Thirty goals all told this season bespeak a striker in his prime. And for one who used to be alarmingly hot-headed on the pitch and a more than a touch air-headed off it, he has gradually emerged as a mature, likeable and disarmingly modest figurehead at a time when the stock of footballer-as-role-model has probably never been lower.
And all this from a specimen of humanity who, unlike so many celebrity footballers, still has the look of someone much closer to the housing estate than the catwalk. Throw in a physique which might charitably be described as “big-boned” and you can’t help but reflect on George Best’s famous observation that if the Belfast boy had been born ugly we’d never have heard of Pele.
Still, I remain reluctant to join in with those excitable types who are already putting Roo in the same bracket as the incomparable Brazilian or even Old Trafford all-time greats like Best and Charlton. A convincing showing at this summer’s World Cup would help but, of course, Rooney has to get there first.
Remember the last time and that pesky metatarsal? Going into the finals in Germany in 2006, the all-consuming issue was how Rooney’s foot would stand up to a tackle. Instead, the pertinent question turned out to be how someone’s tackle would stand up to Rooney’s foot, as he planted his studs in Ricardo Carvalho’s groin, got a red card from the ref and a wink from Ronaldo for his troubles, and then watched helplessly as England tumbled out of the World Cup on penalties against Portugal.
But while we wait to see if England can contrive even more novel ways of ruining a World Cup for themselves, it’s Ronaldo not Rooney who is currently red in the face. Having scored six in six in the Champions League this season, including the one against Lyon which appeared to have gotten the galacticos off to a flier on Wednesday, it was Ronnie’s turn to watch helplessly as his new mate Gonzalo Higuain wasted wonderful chances to make the game safe before the roof collapsed on Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, another former icon was reduced to a ghostly bit-part in the Theatre of Dreams. In fairness to David Beckham — not a phrase you hear often — he cracked one blistering volley and delivered one superb cross during his late appearance as a sub for Milan but the only way he was ever going to threaten to upstage Rooney was by donning that Newton Heath scarf as he left the pitch. That would have alienated the current regime at Old Trafford but his subsequent rowing back from controversy — the ownership was “none of his business”, he told reporters — will only succeed in alienating the fans who thought he was on their side in the first place.
In short, Beckham’s contribution was about as meaningful off the pitch as it had been on it. All the more reason then to applaud someone like Rooney who appears happy to let his feet — and his head — do the talking.
