Wayne Rooney celebrates his 30th birthday on Saturday. The best English player of his generation, the Manchester United and England captain has seldom been out of the news since bursting on to the scene as a combustible 16-year-old with Everton. It is career that has been packed with some exhilarating highs and extraordinary lows for club and country. This week The Times will be looking back at 30 memorable Rooney moments as we count down to the milestone.
30. First league goal: Everton v Arsenal, Goodison Park, October 19, 2002
Five days short of his 17th birthday, Rooney was introduced with ten minutes of the game remaining and the scoreline locked at 1-1. With Sol Campbell and Lauren standing off, Rooney plucked the ball out of the air, took a couple more touches as he turned and then unleashed a venomous drive into the roof of the net that left a pony-tailed David Seaman with no chance.
At the time, the goal made Rooney the Premier League’s youngest ever-scorer and ended Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run. Jeanette, Rooney’s mum, missed the goal because of people rising to their feet before the ball found the net and had to ask her husband, Wayne, who had scored.
Rooney celebrated by going for a kickabout with his mates at the garages near his house in Croxteth, Liverpool. Two months later, he was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
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29. Kitchen boxing bout with Phil Bardsley
Rooney boxed at an amateur level before Everton told him to hang up his gloves at 15 but has remained a fan and carried Ricky Hatton’s belts to the ring for a 2007 world title bout against Jose Luis Castillo.
Rooney appeared to take his passion a little too far in February this year when he was filmed holding a sparring session with Phil Bardsley, a former United team-mate, in the kitchen of his Cheshire mansion. Bardsley caught Rooney with a punch and knocked the United and England captain flat on his back. Video footage of the incident wormed its way to The Sun on Sunday.
Rooney saw the funny side, however, and after scoring in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur raced over to the box the corner flag before falling backwards as if to simulate being knocked out. “I spoke to the manager [Louis van Gaal],” Rooney later explained. “He didn’t see it as a big issue. Other people obviously do.”
28. International red card: Montenegro v England, Podgorica, October 7, 2011
Fabio Capello, the England manager, had insisted before England’s critical European Championship qualifying match against Montenegro in Podgorica that Rooney was in the right frame of mind to play, despite his father, Wayne Snr, being arrested 24 hours earlier as part of an investigation into an alleged betting scandal. What followed suggested otherwise.
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England were 2-1 up when Rooney was dismissed in the 73rd minute for kicking out at Miodrag Dzudovic. Montenegro pulled a goal back in stoppage time to draw 2-2 but England still qualified for Euro 2012 on the night. Rooney’s three-match ban was reduced to two games on appeal but it still meant he missed England’s opening two matches at the tournament, a draw with France and a victory over Sweden. Rooney returned against Ukraine in England’s final group game but he looked off the pace in that 1-0 win and again against Italy in their quarter-final defeat on penalties.
27. Wonder strike: Manchester United v Newcastle United, Old Trafford, April 24, 2005
This was the young Rooney in microcosm. Snarling and tempestuous one moment, a match-winner capable of moments of sheer brilliance the next. What is remarkable is that Rooney was remonstrating furiously with Neale Barry, the referee, only seconds before thumping home this unstoppable 25-yard drive to kickstart a United comeback in a 2-1 win. One second he has his back to goal and is threatening to boil over, the next he has turned and lashed the ball in after a seemingly harmless clearing header by Peter Ramage. It remains one of his very best goals.
“He’s actually arguing with the ref when the ball drops to him and he takes the anger out on the ball and, yeah .. volleys it in the top corner from 25 yards,” Ryan Giggs, his former United team-mate, now the club’s assistant manager, said. “As long as you can channel your anger in the right way then for some players they need it.”
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26. Foul-mouthed outburst: West Ham United v Manchester United, Upton Park, April 2, 2011
United were losing 2-0 when Rooney suddenly kicked into gear and scored three second-half goals in the space of 14 minutes to inspire his team to a 4-2 win. The problem was that, after converting a 79th-minute penalty to complete his hat-trick and put United 3-2 in front, Rooney ran straight towards a TV camera and unleashed an expletive-strewn outburst to millions of television viewers.
Rob Hawthorne, the Sky commentator, offered an immediate on-air apology before Rooney was charged by the FA and given a two-match ban. He later apologised for his actions. “I didn’t realise what I’d done,” he said. “It was just emotions, it was a release if you like of scoring the three goals to get us back in the game. As soon as I realised after the game I apologised as soon as I could. Of course it was wrong of me to do, but I accept my punishment and you just have to move on.”