WAYNE ROONEY may still be mastering the art of performing somersaults, but the rest of the world has fallen head over heels for England’s talismanic, gymnastic forward. As the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship finals squared up to a jostling scrum of television cameras in the bowels of the Estadio Cidade de Coimbra on Thursday evening, the safety barriers broke. Yesterday, more walls came tumbling down.
Newspapers across the Continent laid bare Sven-Göran Eriksson’s secret weapon; there can be no hiding, no protection, no release from the hyperbole now. “The new darling of English football, a matador,” A Bola, the Portuguese sports daily, swooned. L’Equipe, of France, proclaimed Rooney as “the new Michael Owen”. Le Monde was tart yet fawning. “Venomous to his opponents,” it said. “He made his elders look ridiculous.” Gazzetta dello Sport offered: “England is Baby Rooney.”
In the Everton boardroom, heads will have swollen with pride. Time to man the barricades; having valued their teenage prodigy at £45 million, they may be reflecting on their generosity. “If I was a club manager, I would get straight on to his agent,” Eriksson said, and the presence of Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, and Peter Kenyon, his chief executive, at England’s second game may have consequences.
Steven Gerrard remains Chelsea’s primary target, but Rooney’s muscular performances can only have piqued their interest. “I’d love to get hold of him and get him to Chelsea,” John Terry, the England centre half, said. “I’ll have to put in a word. I’ve not got the money to buy him, but I think there are others at the club who might.” Clinging to Goodison Park may be “wasting his time”, one of Rooney’s uncles claimed yesterday.
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His second goal against Switzerland rebounded off the head of Jörg Stiel, the goalkeeper, yet Rooney is hurdling setbacks like a steeplechaser. The yellow card he received for clattering into Stiel could have shattered more fragile egos. “A few of the lads told me to calm down a bit, but if I go into a tackle, I’ll always give 110 per cent,” he said. “I like to play with a bit of a temper.”
Many had cautioned against placing onerous expectations on Rooney, but his England team-mates have long since abandoned the pretence. “It’s a privilege to be working with him,” Kieron Dyer, of Newcastle United, said. “At the moment, he’s carrying England on his shoulders and I just hope the booking against Switzerland doesn’t hurt us. It would be a disaster if he got suspended.
“If you’re talking about England’s great No 9s, Alan Shearer is already up there, but Wayne has the attributes to be one of the best. I don’t think he will score as many goals, but there is so much more to his game. He’s not only a predator. Where I do see similarities with Alan is in terms of leadership qualities and his ability to raise the spirit of his team-mates. The way he leads the line is amazing.”
If his fellow luminaries were cramped by tension in Coimbra, Rooney barely noticed. “People say that nothing fazes me, but I’m a young lad and I do get nervous before a game, like anyone else,” he insisted. Sceptics will require more substantive evidence. “It’s as if he’s going for a knockabout with his friends,” Gerrard said. “He’s very relaxed. That’s why we’re seeing good things from him. He has nothing to lose.
“I could go on all day about Wayne because he’s a big, big talent. He’s proven in this tournament so far that he’s going to be a massively important player in the future. He’s still so young and if he keeps looking after himself off the pitch, the world is his oyster. He’s going to keep breaking records and I’m just glad he’s English. He surprises everyone. He runs defences ragged.”
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With Michael Owen and David Beckham yet to seize Euro 2004 by the throat, Rooney has emerged as Eriksson’s focal point. “He looks unstoppable at the moment,” Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said. “He’s the key to England’s offensive game. I thought a lot of his team-mates played without much confidence, but he looked like a youngster without nerves.
“Perhaps he’s simply too young to have worries likes some of his colleagues, but Rooney is the force at the front of the England side.” At present, he looks unstoppable.