@@thangchano If he wasnt English no one would even remember him anymore. Never Even hit 30 goals. Only twice More than 20. Thats obsolutely terrible for for what he is built up to be. If he wasnt a drunkard and would have concentrated on football he could have realised his potential.
Wayne played the game like any kid in their local park dreams of doing some day......lashing it in from all angles, putting himself about, hassling and harrying the opposition, spitting and swearing as he got more and more worked up, telepathic passes all over the pitch... He was a joy to watch because he embodied the raw passion and spirit that everyone who loves the game feels in their heart.......that's why he'll always be a legend.
Rooney had raw talent, was scoring screamers in the premier League at 16 hatrick in his champions league debut at 18 Messi and Ronaldo peaked later and train like athletes to stay at the top level Rooney was just naturally world class at 16
I am a more casual viewer & yet I still remember that legendary lineup. That was the best squad MU ever had. Now, it's the shittiest squad now if Ronaldo is removed.
@@senor2930 It was a great lineup, fo sho. Honestly, I think the late 90's may have been ManU's best years. Peter Schmeichel is a legend, and he led the boys to glory.
@@seanticleer4915 Schmeichel wasnt clearly better than van der Sar (either on par or slightly better). Man U 2008 were slightly better in defense (Vidic equal to Stam but Ferdinand better than Johnsen, though arguably Irwin was better than Evra though). In central midfield I prefer Keano and Scholes. On the wing its clearly 2008 with Ronaldo alongside a wooden stick better than Beckham and Giggs together. Up front 2008 had better starters in Rooney and Tevez but 99 had more depth.
I feel Rooney hurt himself in a number of ways. A genius natural footballer who didn't ever feel the need to go 'crazy' conditioning himself as he got older (I suspect which led Ferguson to 'utilise' his ability, rather than build a team around him ultimately). Never setting international tournaments on fire is also the other knock which led to a perception of fan disappointment (given his astronomical wages). I think that also produced a lot of envy / annoyance among the average fan - seeing him as a great footballing yob who doesn't deliver at the very highest levels. Best compliment I can give him is he was a complete football talent - however high you do or don't rate him. x
@@beejj6190U made some sense,but until he busted his foot at age 18 he was the best player in the early Rnds of the 2004 European Championships..Remember how he took France apart,but David Beckham missed the Penalty!
My favourite thing with Rooney was that he always gave 100% and tried in every game, even when he was not playing well. I have never seen any other player show the level of commitment and energy in every game they played in.
The British media tried to kill Rooney's footballing legacy. I watched nearly every game he ever played it (or at least highlights) and even on a bad day he was one of the best players on the pitch. A perfect all-round footballer who, contrary to common belief, didn't peak young and drop off. He was excellent throughout his whole career and changed his style to accommodate other players, appearing less flash in the process. This 100% has a lot to do with the fact he's working class and the British media loves to bring people up and see them crash down. Didn't work on Wazza
Showed how so mentally strong he is the fact he doesn’t look affected on what the media is saying. I can only hope Greenwood will get through this strongly as well as he’s been the media’s new target after the Iceland incident
@@tottereff8615 average? He was a second striker like bruno, muller today and rooney is the fucking all time top scorer of man utd and england!!! You are just a hater.
@@PA.69 Cause he wasnt good enough of a goal scorer to play as a number 9. I dont hate Rooney. Just brainless fan boys like you who dont understand anything about football just blindly follow media hype and pundits like Rio and Neville who know nothing.
Loved Wayne Rooney's time at DC United. I wish we had been able to keep him a couple more years. I was never so glad to be so wrong about a player. He played with enormous heart and guts for us.
@@soapboxx9664 when you are a fan of MLS since its inception, you will have seen a number of players from overseas come and just get paid highly while greatly underperforming. For a long time, English players and the like just thought of MLS as a retirement league. So, you become jaded and assume that any player, no matter how great they used to be, is just coming to get a huge paycheck and ride off into the sunset. As I said, very happy to have been so wrong about Rooney.
@@maeglin9252 definitely used to be. They European superstars tend to go to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and China now for that last paycheck. MLS these years is trending towards buying younger designated players these days to build their team around. But I'm sure that stigma for MLS won't be shaken off for another decade or more so I don't fault you for thinking of it that way.
@@jhj2386 They also speak of him with comparisons to Ronaldo and Messi and say he didn't reach that level... What? They can only bring up two of the GOATs to belittle him because he was world class wherever you put him on the pitch lol
@JHJ23 i think he is on the same level as ronaldo but English players dont get ballondores and he is more of a team player messi does the exactly the same thing to get a higher contract
As a Liverpool fan, I'm being really unbiased here by saying that Rooney is one of Englands best players of our generation. Although I don't much like the teams he played for, watching him play was so so good!
@@bubuumanasye2080 oh ...we do have to say it lool. YNWA Seriously though he was just outlining his leaning in the opposite direction, to add weight to his point
I've never seen anyone kick the ball so hard for the goal. It takes such confidence to hammer the ball into the net so accurately with so much force behind it. Electric.
@@tottereff8615yeah ur Rooney disrespect is crazy lol Sure he didn’t put up crazy numbers as a number 9 , but was a brilliant 10 and like FI said it’s not all about numbers. He did whatever the club needed and he and the team won a crapton with him as a legit weapon and having a big impact. Im not English btw but he deserves his flowers
@@tottereff8615separate note: how do you rate Gareth bale rm career? I feel like their might be parallels where Rooney and bale are underrated and underapreciated
Rooney was massively important for us every single season he was playing. I remember a season toward the end of his career when people were saying "he's getting old, sell him" but he was the only reason we were in the top half of the table, his assists and goals. It's absolutely right in this video about Rooney + Ronaldo + Tevez... I have not seen a better combination of players in my lifetime watching football.
When Rooney said the board lacked ambition he was totally right, and we’ve seen it for the last 10ish years. SAF won titles under the glazer’s ownership because he is a wizard. Rooney was a brilliant brilliant player and the criticism I feel I have over his career is that he underperformed for England, but you could argue that gerrard, lampard etc did as well. Rooney is forever a legend of the game and without a doubt a premier league great
As a Canadian i was aloof to football until catching a Messi highlight reel. Now i’m addicted to soccer and am grateful for the education on this man that I thought was merely a plug. From my eye, if you had a hockey player like this on your team you count your blessings. Seems like an all rounder. thanks for the insight!
Peaked way, way too early. Unless you were a United fan watching him week in week out, it would be difficult to understand his rapid decline. About the last third of his career was basically spent plodding around in midfield passing sideways. Often, when given the opportunity to play as a sole striker, he just didn't have the pace or agility. Also, his choice to hold the club to ransom *twice* to try and get a better contract didn't help his cause, and I like many others never felt the same way about him after. A few other points I would add however: - Yes he underperformed at an international level (Euro '04 aside), but then so did the rest of the so-called Golden Generation. All immensely talented, but played under the wrong managers and weren't compatible. They all, also, contributed to their own negative public image with their lifestyles (and the WAGs) during the tournaments. - His lack of self-discipline when it came to physical conditioning was evident. CR7 was the same age, but the differences in attitude towards health and fitness are mind boggling. - He was naturally gifted and genuinely had a 'footballing brain', which I don't believe can be taught. When a player possesses this, they instinctively read the game and know how to position themselves and how to make decisions. It's rare to see this with English players today. Do I miss him? Yes, but only at his prime. Combined with Ronaldo, Tevez, Nani and Berbatobv, there were some deadly combinations over the years.
That first time was NOT a ransom He has point blank said that he was just being a stupid kid that was angry who shouldn't have opened his mouth and he immediately apologized Second one wasn't holding us hostage either, Rooney said to Fergie that it might be best for him to move on if he was going to continue to get the same playing time(this was already knowing Fergie was retiring), that isn't holding hostage that's voicing your opinion to someone who is basically your mentor. The ONLY reason ronaldo pulled ahead of him was because ronaldo didn't give a shit at all about the club or the fans he only cared about himself and his stats. So he went to THE stat padding league to basically ruin the entire point of records with Messi. You take Rooney and make him get serious about conditioning and then throw him into that same stat farming league and neither messi or ronaldo would EVER have caught up to him especially since a lot of Wayne's injuries were due to how physical the premiership was when he was playing as opposed to it being far lighter in spain.
@@victorkreig6089 I agree to few points but saying ronaldo didn't care for fans is not true. He cared for United but he knew after loss to barca that to be the best he had to go to madrid and compete with messi to be the best and greatest. And I agree that rooney would have been amazing in la liga but he stayed because he cared more for United and didn't have the ambition to be the greatest. That's why when messi bursted in the scene. I knew only one that could compete him would be rooney. He could have even beat messi in some aspects. Tho leo still is something else.
@@mtk3755 he did not care about the fans, he said he was being suffocated in the premier league and that is why he wanted to leave That is a direct middle finger to the fans Won the best honors possible and then says he is being suffocated and must leave He left the PL because he knew that if he stayed he would constantly be competing to play but if he moved to Madrid he would be in every single game Plain and simple it was for selfish reasons He comes back to United, has one mediocre season, and then says that the club has no ambition and he wants to leave(months after season is over)? That is insult to the club If he actually cared about the club or the fans he would have done what a man does and worked hard to try and pull the club back to where it belongs to the best he can. Instead he cry like little baby and disrespect the new manager and the players Now other players have come in and done what he wasn't man enough to do He is a petty child and always will be
@@FootballIconic true yeah, his fathers death seems to be the catalyst unfortunately. Explosive players with explosive personalities. Blessing we got to see them at all. Love your channel and chilled delivery style 🙌 Learned a lot, thanks man 🙏
He is the all time leading goalscorer of the most successful club in english football. That fact alone should put him in the conversation for best ever player in English football, everytime.
@@jaysmith2858 By what measure? Liverpool are the only club there is even an argument for, but only if you count titles from the 18/1900's. Doing so puts them ahead by 1 title if you only include PL and CL, so not really a very compelling argument given it rests on 100 year old records. Man U easily then best Prem team from the modern era
I'm a Utd fan and i would dispute that... Rooney would definitely make the top 20 players and top 5 attackers, but his goal ratio is inferior to quite a few players at Utd and England over the same time period... but he has played for a long time. If Van Nistelroy, Ronaldo, Tevez or Van Persie had played 10 seasons then that record would have been taken by them - would that make them the best ever? Rooney would sit behind Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Schmiechel Stam and Cantona for every Utd fan in terms of the PL era and is probably behind Ronaldo, Van Nistelroy, Ferdinand, Vidic, Irwin, Evra and Carrick for quite a few other fans. This is not to say that Rooney was not a great player - he was, but for Utd all these players could be argued as just as great, if not greater. For England he got to 3 quarters but got injured in 04, sent off in 06 and rushed back from injury in 10 - no better than Beckham in that respect. Gascoigne played in 2 tournaments and we got to the semis in both... and both those teams in 90 and 96 were not of the calibre of the 04-10 group
@@Jacob-kf8oh Manchester United - 42 trophies - League x20, FA Cup x12, League Cup x5, European Cup x3, Cup Winners’ Cup x1, UEFA Cup/Europa League x1. Liverpool - 43 trophies - League x19, League Cup x8, FA Cup x7, European Cup x6, UEFA Cup/Europa League x3.
For me he is the best player ever. May be because I loved his playing style..He was always running everywhere in the field and scoring, creating chances , defending... He was THE COMPLETE PLAYER..
True that's why when I saw prime rooney and messi bursted in the scene. I always thought if rooney plays like that only he can compete with messi. But ronaldo moved to madrid and worked harder to compete. And rooney dipped unfortunately. If he had maintained that level throughout his career hed be one of the goats.
@@paulmichaelrichardson6582 Roo was better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi I don't know how much better Maradona is than Rooney but he was better yes. It doesn't make sense to say its embarrassing to put Zidane or Cryuff or Messi in the same sentence as Maradona. Phil Jones or Harold Maguire yes.
I think the physical decline that was mentioned, and was very noticeable, caused people to forget just how good he was. If you look at the overall picture, he was one of the greats. (There was one season where there was serious talk for a while that he may have been the best in the world.)
But to be fair, when his physical declined, he made it up with football intelect. He was deployed as CM and in some games under LVG as CDM. He is so versatile it's not even funny. Him being in CM is still one of the best passers in the world. United however, declined far worse than him. As it went on til now
I think he's underrated and underappreciated. Calling him those things do not mean he's more or less underrated than any other player, just that he is indeed underrated. I think this is even more noticeable when you see that bit from The Kickoff where one of the talking heads, Lawrence goes on a rant about Rooney. I think it's 100% true that when people talk about the best forwards Rooney never really a thought, even when just naming a few not best all time conversations. As for him underperforming for England, well it can be said England as a whole has underperformed. They often have some of the best talent in world football, but all they have to show for it is a World Cup win in 1966, hell they've never finished better than third in UEFA Euro Championship. England as a whole doesn't perform, so an individual player won't really have much success either. When it comes to his rapid decline, a good comparison sports wise would be an NFL running back. If you run a running back into the ground, they will have shorter careers. Usage matters. Plus Wayne career ended right when players started spending their own money to take care of their bodies during the offseason. Again using the NFL as an example, players like Russell Wilson and Tom Brady spend $1 million a year on their body. Rooney played a lot, got hurt a lot, and there was no investment in recovery like there is nowadays.
Listen as an American Rooney, Messi, and Ronaldo were probably the only “soccer players” I could name growing up. It wasn’t until I worked in London during 2018 that I fell in love with football (still love the American version too). His one bicycle kick made him such a legend here it’s absurd.
Underrated and Underappreciated by those outside of Manchester United. A bulldog on the field, who regularly sacrificed for the betterment of the Team. Top Class finisher and underrated playmaker.
The stats are there to be seen. He had, power, pace, aggression and technical ability. Rooney in his prime could of walk into any starting line up in Europe, most English players can't do that. Legend indeed.
he was not alone in that - typical FA... finally accept we are neanderthals and get a foreign coach - who is a strict advocate of 4-4-2! At least Rooney was misused on the pitch... Carrick never got that far and Scholes almost never played in his correct position. Ho hum...
@@CarlinConnolly England had the perfect team for the 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1/4-5-1 systems. They should've brought in Harry Redknapp straight after the FA Cup with Portsmouth! The misusage of Carrick was even worse, because at least Rooney played.
Hes still my favorite player. I know he might have come up short in some peoples eyes. But idk y. A pissed off Mr. Rooney running people or the ball down always made me smile. I been with United since 1997. And Mr. Rooney's overall game is what i loved. Nothing he could or wudnt do. And i always felt if you crossed him, he wud give u a good slap. Yea sometimes he had an attitude. But it made him more real to me. Like he honestly didnt give a damn wat anyone thought. And didnt like the same old boring answers everyone else gave to every repetitive question. I just feel like more than any other player I seen. After the game. I could be in the back of some restaurant having some alcohol and a cigarette with Mr. Rooney. Yea maybe he shuda trained more. But you got 1 life. And i feel he balanced success and joy in life. And again i respect that he really didnt give a dam what others thought. They dont make em like that. Clearly England's most talented guy i ever seen. And played nothing like a english. Thats for sure. Ohh and he did sacrifice in recognition that it was best for the team. And clearly Ronaldo was better. To do that. In ur own country. Wen u the chosen one. That i respect. Mr. Rooney was a real man. Cause players today given those circumstances...me move to other position. Im Englands biggest thing. Dont you know. Im fucking Wayne Rooney. Yea no. He moved. That shows respect for his team and the game. He was more mature then people think. Mr. Rooney was a real man about shit.
Great comment. I used to love that about Rooney, guy played on the edge and always looked like he was gonna get sent off. Plus he had that genius in him that like that Newcastle goal that I’ll never forget. Getting involved with the gutter press killed Rooney, like it did with becks who I remember as a kid was at one point more rated than Giggs. Honestly season after Ronaldo left Rooney played disgusting football, he was trying mad chips from 20yards and smashing crossbars for fun, but for whatever reason I just stopped loving the way he played the game. Toward the end it was headers and penalties and the magic seemed to go. Honestly know it sounds mad but it’s why I don’t rate cr7 on the level of R9. I loved united cr7 but his game just didn’t excite me after he left united, I mean don’t get me wrong he’s an animal and I got nothing but respect for him but I don’t love him like I would have if he played the game the way he used to. Sometimes players make sacrifices to win and they get the money and the trophies but lose the love. On the end I rate Rooney and double rate CR7 but I loved Ronaldinho and Zidane. Am I talking shit or just getting old?
very satisfying comment indeed, truly, i agree with mr charles. if I can speak for myself, for me mr. wayne rooney isn't an under rated legend at all, for me he is the legend, amongst many for me again. amongst many and yet he still holds his own, doesn't he. thank you wayne rooney for all those GLORIOUS united memories.
Under appreciated in my opinion as the saying goes it wasn’t the years but the mileage that finished him off early, such a hard working player willing to move positions to accommodate others and still perform
This guy made me fall in love with football. I’m so glad I got to witness the majority of his 13 years of greatness at United and his peak. Undoubtedly one of the greatest ever who will always be under-appreciated mainly because he wasn’t a selfish forward (sadly it’s all about scoring individual goals nowadays at the expense of team-play) or a lethal finisher though he made up for the latter with his intelligence, positioning, passing, stamina, work-rate, strength, versatility, consistency and leadership. Unfortunately these qualities by itself rarely gain high recognition and his premature decline in pace obviously didn’t help him at all.
Iconic, I've always seen Rooney as one of those players who everyone looks at and thinks "nah, they're just okay" until the stats are pulled out. You know the types, the strikers who pull out a 1 in 3 consistent record but go in massive streaks. Or the winger who is the head-down, speed demon yet pulls in solid assist/goals/regain possession stats. The players with good, solid careers and yet never really had it in them to go that extra step to top tier. A Nicky Butt to Roy Keane, an Ole Solskjaer to a Shearer. Yet Rooney HAD that ability to step up and challenge Messi/Ronaldo as the best in the world. It was his natural talent that took that okay/good stats to the record breaker he became. But he never touched what he could have. It might sound greedy, but I honestly don't think he reached the heights he should have with his talents. He became one of those mid-table forwards who are club legends but was able to coast on a GOAT natural talent pool to have one of those careers at United. To use a wonky example - It's as though United bought OG Ronaldo come again, but he turned into Rudd van Nistelrooy. Now, there's _nothing_ wrong with having a Ruud van Nistelrooy as the finished product, but he sure as shit ain't the Ronaldo level icon his talents would have let him become if he had worked at it.
The Wayne Rooney of 09/10 (until Bayern deliberately injured him) is the closest a player has been to Messi in my time of watching football. The man was untouchable at the time with his raw strength, pace, finishing, dribbling and even heading ability. Grew into such a fine passer in his later days as well. Will not be mentioned alongside CR7 and Ronaldo, but I’ll always have him up there as one of my all-time favourite players.
So true man, that's why I always counted on him that only player to compete with messi was rooney. He just had to focus more on fitness and conditioning, maintaining consistency, ambition to be the best and move to la liga. If he had done that rooney messi rivalry would have been something else. Rooney could have been a goat in my opinion. Still a legend but could have achieved so much more. Ronaldo had that ambition and he later moved to madrid to be the best.
I feel you in some ways. For me it’s Lothar Mattius. If that guy was right back he’s better than lahm, as a DM he’s better than pretty much anyone, in centre mid or AM he’s Gerrard on steroids, if he was a winger he would have been as good as Giggs. Guy was a freak. But Rooney was really talented and could play the game properly. Certainly the most diverse English player I can think of.
I'd always admired Rooney, but when he joined DC United, that admiration skyrocketed. Just an absolutely amazing player. Of course in MLS, he was playing against inferior competition (though it's not as bad as some fans might think). His quality was readily apparent. But it was his never give up attitude and unselfish play that really made him a fan favorite. Now that he's back at DC United as the manager, I hope he can turn the franchise back around quickly. BTW, my English cousin and her hubby called Rooney "Shrek" which always greatly amused me. :)
Rooney is underappreciated because United was full of legends at that time. It is now that we realise how good he was. Remember three lungs Park? He's underrated for sure
Excellent video. I'm no MU fan or CR7 hater, but Rooney was a truly phenomenal player who had the will to succeed but not the ego to demand that he be centre of everything. The fact that he accommodated to so many different roles at club and international level is testimony to his talent and commitment, but it doesn't help his stats or comparisons w out and out strikers that had teams built around them. All that talk about Rooney's decline misses out how long we was as the top, and from how young: how many of us wouldn't give everything for a player that hit those heights for that long? Anyway, thoughtful vid and worth a subscribe! cheers!
Wayne Rooney is my United's best player of all times, he's work pace on the pitch was so unmatched, he made tremendous assists for Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov, Chicharito, & Van Persie. A very underrated and under appreciated
Wazza was just Unbelievable.. And United haven't managed to replace Him STILL..!! Please make video on Santi Cazorla as well.. His story is Inspiring 🔥
@@FootballIconic couldn't dribble , was never top scorer in the league, scored over 20 league goals twice in 15 seasons, ...infact I can name 20 attackers better than him
Not a Rooney fan, but I remember the 2011 season when ManU had a lot of injuries & he played in defense for a couple of game him & Carrick & he played well some winning performances too
Incredibly grateful to have been able to watch most of Rooney's career for United. He was literally Man United's engine running tirelessly throughout the game. Unmatchable tenacity and agression is what set him apart. These things unfortunately cannot be measured in stats or titles. Simply Irreplaceable.❤️ A United Icon.
Generally when people are physically mature at a young age they seldom can sustain it approaching there 30 . For me Roony is a legend. His number of goals and assists was massive and some of the assets were sublime.
The thing with rooney is he was so good at a young age that his peak years were very early in his career so it seemed he didn't full fill his potential
Born to play football. The most naturally talented and most complete football player England has ever produced. Could play anywhere I bet he was even good in goal. Pace power skill to burn touch and technique to match anyone. His understanding of the game even at Everton as a teenager were on parr with Scholes Perlo and the likes. A proper players player those who played football at any decent level and especially those that played with or against him will never under rate just what a truly special player he was. Once in a generation pure class.
On ManU's last good Champion's League run (the one where they got robbed against Real Madrid) Rooney essentially played as full back man marking C. Ronaldo and cancelling him out quite succesfully. Truly underrated.
In the beginning, as he rose with Everton (and his falling out with Moyes), I feared he was another Gascoigne: sublime talent with a head to over balance it. I think it’s fair to say that he truly came to life under Sir Alex, learning how to temper his natural aggression and play nicely with others. He was a more complete player than Beckham ever was: a hard man, he could tackle, dribble, cross, make short passes and long passes, make useful runs off the ball, and play off others just as well as he played the point man. I would say he is, ultimately, underrated, again because of the comparisons to others. He may never have been quite as pretty to watch as others, but by damn, he was a solid player!
I love this game and United because of him. Maybe he could achieve more, but it doesn’t matter for me. Anyway he is my favorite player who ever played in United
He's a Uruguayan trapped in an Englishman;'s body - he has that tenaciousness that Suarez has, the "never say die when you're an underdog" spirit (though Rooney never tried to eat anyone).
The players who start playing as winger and second striker when his debut season with United (he will play as striker if RvN out from 11) till Saha, Smith, Berba and etc era, he start become centre forward as permanent in season 2009/2010 when CR and Tevez move to other club (He scorer 3+ goals in that season, if im not wrong). He become second striker again when Welbeck was growth and Chicarito and RvP arrived, since then he become as AM and CM. The best fact from Wazza is; The only striker who had 1++ assists in premier league history, not forget he also top scorer in Manchester United and England history. Maybe you can argue this man but trust me, you can't hate this man with no reason. Passion with the badge, captaincy mentality, versatile and very underrated player. Just my opinion, sorry for my english 🙏🏼 GGMU
The most underrated players from that squad were brown Carrick fletcher and ji, I've added ji & brown because they might not have been superstars but they were so reliable. People seem to have a downer on nani too and he actually had some brilliant seasons
Brown would be too 3 best defenders in the prem if he was playing now. Guy was quality. Like carrack but he only comes unstuck on the European stage, once you start playing against the Pirlo’s, xavi’s and x.alonso’s of this world he isn’t there, although he’s not far away. But compared to the shit we’ve seen last few years in the prem carrick is a God!
Defended from the front just an awesome player! Real team player in every sense of the word was a special talent that the press destroyed! He was literally a street striker and that aggression was part of his game ❤️mufc
Everyone went after this kid year on year...even his loyalty to United probably hindered his career and the fact they focused the team around CR7 who later upped and left anyway leaving Rooney being more of a utility forward rather then back to a central striker. I think if Rooney had gone abroad to an easier league like the Spanish one he would have kicked on and been a bigger goal machine. Completely underrated by most because of how he was used in the later 3 seasons at United and also underappreciated by media and fans alike for what he gave us! I think his antics away from Football and how he was with the media at times just killed him compared to others who are loved. I will forever be thankful for the England moments he gave me though and I just wish he was in his prime now and could partner Kane, I think this era would have suited his style a lot more.
He's not underrated. He just didn't live up to what was expected of him. He never became that top five player in the world balon D'or winner that people expected him to be. He was ahead of Ronaldo for years at United. And he made the team of the tournament at the euros at eighteen and was terrible at every tournament since. So peoples opinion of his career is somewhat justified. He kind of reached his ceiling quite young and stayed at that level his whole career and even though his ceiling was high, people expected him in his early to mid twenties to push on to the next level and it never happened.
@@lombardia1509 He was never a top five player. Maybe a top ten in certain seasons but people were expecting a perennial top five player who was in that conversation for almost the entirety of their prime.
Perfect comment. In my opinion, his creative expression was trained out of him at United. He should have stayed at Everton 2 more years where he would have been allowed to do anything to carry the team. He was being brought in as a sub, with absolute impact and having the pressure on him being managed carefully. (Which is important if you want to feel free to be creative).
No, he chose to party when he was younger, meaning he was a shell of the player he could have become. The lack of basic left foot confidence compromised his technique and when he lost his youthful pace, the edge to his game was not the same. I saw him at 18 in Euro2004 against Portugal when he went off injured in the quarterfinals. I'm convinced we'd have won that tournament if he hadn't got injured. He was unplayable-just completely uncontainable, he made Lilian Thuram look like a Sunday league defender. He chose his path, as is his right. But no, he's not under-rated. Because he didnt look after himself and to be blunt, his play and reputation was a constraint on both Manchester United and England at the end of his career. His first touch was terrible and all he seemed confident in doing was spreading the play to the other side of the pitch. Anyone who saw him in his early career knows he could have been one of the greatest ever. But such is life!
Rooney was the beast. Especially in his earlier years, he's simply a complete forward. Fast, technical, powerful and ANGRY. He was literally the nightmare for backs and keepers back in the day.
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