32 Greatest footballers in the history of the English Premier League - Part 31
9. Wayne Rooney (Continued):
The injury did not only concern Manchester United fans but also concerned the whole England as the FIFA World Cup 2010 was about to come and Rooney was the player who was expected to shine for the English team. With the English
star limping on German soil during the last seconds of the first leg of the quarter finals, fears howled around the manager of the English team, Fabio Capello.
All the fears were given a shut-up call by Wayne Rooney as he soon started to train for the Red Devils. However, he was not given a “go pass” by the doctors of the club. The player showed great enthusiasm for his favourite sport
and wanted to play for his club and requested Ferguson to play him against Bayern Munich during the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter final. Rooney did actually meet his demands and shocked the world after starting for Manchester United during
the home leg that was played against Munich.
The whole world saw Rooney not being fit to play for his club as the English striker limped throughout his time on the field. Due to the injured leg that he had, he could not help his team from the thrashing that they received against the German side as they
advanced to the semi finals after winning on away goals. He couldn’t add another goal to his tally and did not even feature for the last three games that Manchester United played in the English Premier League.
Despite such amazing form in the English Premier League, Wayne Rooney’s season ended in a total disaster. For unknown reasons, Rooney couldn’t really find the form for the English side during the FIFA World Cup 2010. He went to
South Africa to be the striker for the English side and became one of the many players that failed to perform in the World Cup.
The “in-form” Wayne Rooney was supposed to be the best striker of the tournament, but nothing went according to plan. With the team not adapting to Fabio Cappelo’s defensive strategies, Rooney failed to score a single goal throughout the FIFA World Cup. During
the group stages, it was Wayne Rooney who could not find the net against teams like United States, Algeria and Slovenia. The “three lions” totally failed during the group stages, but still managed to qualify for the pre quarter finals where they had to face
the “in-form” German side which was backed with new players like Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil.
Wayne Rooney’s frustrations were reaching great heights and it was seen that after the goalless draw against Algeria, the English striker gave an interview in which he mentioned that the “hated” the way the English team’s fans
were supporting them. However, he later issued an apology and told the press that everything that he said was totally out of anger and he didn’t really mean what he said.
Rooney’s concerns weren’t the goals that he couldn’t score, it was the position that he was playing in under Fabio Capello. The Italian coach did not give Rooney the liberty to play as a lone striker, as Jermain Defoe or Emile
Heskey were the ones who featured ahead of Rooney inside the penalty area while Rooney was given a role of an “attacking midfielder.” In Manchester United, Rooney featured as the only striker of the team and with the new “4-4-2” formation that Capello played,
the amazing Wayne Rooney couldn’t do wonders for his team. Many English fans still think that if Rooney was given the role of a “lone striker” in the English team, they might have won games by scoring a lot of goals.
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