WAYNE ROONEY

Wayne Rooney

Biography

Full name : Wayne Mark Rooney
Date of birth : 24 October 1985 (1985-10-24) (age 23)
Place of birth : Croxteth, Liverpool, England
Height : 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position : Striker Second striker
Appearances : 238
Goals: 98
Joined United: 31 Aug 2004

Rooney Born on 24 October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside, Rooney is the first child of parents of Irish descent Thomas Wayne and Jeanette Marie Rooney (née Morrey).[dead link] He was raised in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John, and all three attended De La Salle School. Wayne grew up supporting local club Everton, and his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson..

Rooney began his career with Everton, joining their youth team at age ten and rising through the ranks. He made his professional debut in 2002 and his first goal made him the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history at the time. He quickly became part of Everton's first team, spending two seasons at the Merseyside club. Before the start of the 2004–05 season, he moved to Manchester United for £25.6 million and became a key member of the first team. Since then, he has won the Premier League three times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and also the Football League Cup.

Rooney made his England debut in 2003 and at Euro 2004 he briefly became the competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured in the 2006 World Cup.


Wayne Rooney Join Manchester United

Rooney being treated for his broken footRooney made his United debut on 28 September 2004 in a 6-2 Champions League group stage win over Fenerbahce, scoring a hat-trick along with an assist. In September 2005, Rooney was sent off in a UEFA Champions League clash with Villarreal of Spain (which ended in a goalless draw) for sarcastically clapping the referee who had booked him for an unintentional foul on an opponent. His first trophy with United came in the 2006 League Cup, and he was also named man of the match after scoring twice in United's 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the final. In the Premier League, however, an erratic start to the season left title glory looking unlikely for United and their title hopes were ended in late April when they lost 3-0 at home to champions Chelsea and had to settle for second place.

Rooney was sent off in an Amsterdam Tournament match against Porto on 4 August 2006 after hitting Porto defender Pepe with an elbow. He was punished with a three-match ban by the FA, following their receipt of a 23-page report from referee Ruud Bossen that explained his decision. Rooney wrote a letter of protest to the FA, citing the lack of punishment handed down to other players who were sent off in friendlies. He also threatened to withdraw the FA's permission to use his image rights if they did not revoke the ban, but the FA had no power to make such a decision.


Rooney playing for Manchester United During the first half of the 2006–07 season, Rooney ended a ten-game scoreless streak with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers, and he signed a two-year contract extension the next month that tied him to United until 2012. By the end of April, a combination of two goals in an 8-3 aggregate quarter-final win over Roma and two more in a 3-2 semifinal first leg victory over Milan brought Rooney's total goal amount to 23 in all competitions and tied him with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo for the team goalscoring lead.

Rooney collected his first Premier League title winner's medal at the end of the 2006-07 season, but has yet to pick up an FA Cup winner's medal; he had to settle for a runners-up medal in the 2007 FA Cup Final.

United announced during the post-season that Rooney had taken over the number 10 jersey that was vacated by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had left for Real Madrid a year earlier. He was presented with the shirt at a press conference on 28 June 2007 by former United striker Denis Law, who had also worn the number during his tenure with the club in the 1960s and early 1970s.

On 12 August 2007, Rooney fractured his left metatarsal in United's opening-day goalless draw against Reading; he had suffered the same injury to his right foot in 2004. After being sidelined for six weeks, he returned for United's 1-0 Champions League group stage win over Roma on 2 October, scoring the match's only goal. However, barely a month into his return, Rooney injured his ankle during a training session on 9 November, and missed an additional two weeks. His first match back was against Fulham on 3 December, in which he played 70 minutes.[dead link] Rooney missed a total of ten games and finished the 2007-08 season with eighteen goals, as United clinched both the Premier League and the Champions League, in which they defeated league rivals Chelsea in the competition's first-ever all-English final.

On 5 October 2008 in a road win over Blackburn, Rooney became the youngest player in league history to make 200 appearances. After scoring what turned out to be the only goal 54 seconds into a 1-0 defeat of Wigan, Rooney limped off with a hamstring ailment in the eighth minute. His replacement, Carlos Tévez, was injured himself shortly after entering the game, but stayed in. Rooney was out for three weeks, missing one match apiece in the League Cup and FA Cup, along with four Premier League matches.