Former Manchester United star striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy speaks in support of Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United talisman, has been the topic of debate in the world of football in recent times. The stocky striker has been out of form since he injured his ankle against Bayern Munich last season in a UEFA
Champions League semi final. He did recover to make it to the world cup but looked a shadow of himself in South Africa. Maybe he had too much pressure and expectation from the whole nation. And let’s not forget the comments made by England manager Fabio Capello
before the World Cup. The manager after receiving the news of Rooney’s injury had said, “No Rooney, no World Cup.”
However after the exit of England from the World Cup at the final 16 stage, it was believed that Rooney would hit back hard in the league and would do everything to prove that he still is one of the best in the world. Yet the front
man has hardly done that so far for United; his best performance since the World Cup came in the Euro qualifier for England against Switzerland. Now he is once again plagued by the reoccurrence of that ankle injury and will not be part of the United squad
in their match against Valencia. To add to his problems, a British tabloid, the News of the World, came up with revelations that Rooney had been availing the services of a well known prostitute while his wife was expecting their first child. There is speculation
that off-field problems have affected his on field display and he is clearly distracted.
A former strike partner of Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, has come out in support of his old friend, and said that Rooney should not let the off field problems distract him.
Van Nistelrooy, who was one of the most prolific scorers for Manchester United over a period of 5 seasons, said that the press in Britain is very hard on the players and is constantly after the big names. He added that a player
like Rooney should have the mental toughness to stand firm against such problems and should not let them get to him
Van Nistelrooy said, "I think that the most important thing for a footballer is that you focus on the game. That's obviously the main thing. In England there is the press that looks into other parts as well.”
Ruud has played in the Netherlands, England, Spain and now is plying his trade in Germany. He said that after experiencing different cultures and seeing how they deal with the players it is quite clear to him that British media
is the most difficult to deal with. He added that in other places like Spain and Germany players are only judged on how they perform on the pitch rather than other off field problems.
He said, "That doesn't happen in other countries really. You get judged by your performance on the pitch and that's how it should be.”
The former Manchester United striker said that Sir Alex Ferguson has always been a man who pays special attention to his player’s mental state. He said that Ferguson would make sure that his blue eyed boy is helped all the way
during these testing times.
"The players I played with at United were always focused. They still are," he said.
"He can (handle it). He's proved it."
The Netherlands’ striker, who was still holds the record for highest number of goals in one season for United (46), said that Rooney really came of age last season and it was because he was allowed to be himself after the exit
to Ronaldo. Ruud went on to say that Wayne is a player who can carry the team on his own shoulders and United should do all they can to make sure that he is taken care of, especially from the media.
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