The Goal.com 50: Wayne Rooney (15)

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Wayne Rooney is all smiles after scoring in Manchester United's win against Celtic. (PA)

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• Wayne Rooney

50 - Ashley Young - Aston Villa, Premier League - Score: 1109
49 - Javier Zanetti - Internazionale, Serie A - Score: 1104
48 - Daniel Guiza - Fenerbahçe, Super Lig - Score: 1089
47 - Juninho Pernambucano - Olympique Lyonnais, Ligue 1 - Score: 1083
46 - Juan Román Riquelme - Boca Juniors, Argentine Apertura - Score: 1077
45 - Luca Toni - FC Bayern, Bundesliga - Score: 1064
44 - David Silva - Valencia, Primera Division - Score: 1060
42 (T) - Thierry Henry - Barcelona, Primera Division - Score: 1040
42 (T) - Daniel Alves - Sevilla, Primera Division / Barcelona, Primera Division - Score: 1040
41 - Antonio Cassano - Sampdoria, Serie A - Score: 1028
40 - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - Ajax Amsterdam, Eredivisie / Real Madrid, Primera Division - Score: 1027
39 - Ricardo Carvalho - Chelsea, Premier Division - Score: 1025
38 - Samuel Eto'o - Barcelona, Primera Division - Score: 1017
37 - Philipp Lahm - FC Bayern, Bundesliga - Score: 1009
36 - Javier Mascherano - Liverpool, Premier League - Score: 1008
35 - Julio Cesar - Internazionale, Serie A - Score 1000
34 - Robinho - Real Madrid, Primera Division / Manchester City, Premier League - Score: 970
33 - Diego - Werder Bremen, Bundesliga - Score: 955
32 - Carles Puyol - FC Barcelona, La Primera División - Score: 915
31 - Wesley Sneijder - Real Madrid, Primera Division - Score: 887
30 - Daniele De Rossi - Roma, Serie A - Score: 878
29 - Esteban Cambiasso - Internazionale, Serie A - Score: 877
28 - Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus, Serie A - Score 870

27 – Emmanuel Adebayor – Arsenal, Premier League – Score 862

26 - Nemanja Vidic - Manchester United, Premier League - Score: 829
25 - Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Real Madrid, Primera División- Score: 827
24 - Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid, Primera Division - Score: 733

23 - Dougie Maicon - Internazionale, Serie A - Score 729

22 - Alessandro Del Piero - Juventus, Serie A - Score 712

21 - John Terry, Chelsea, Premier League - Score 705

20 - Frank Lampard, Chelsea, Premier League: Score 668

19 - Marcos Senna, Villarreal, Primera Division - Score: 636

18 - Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United, Premier League - Score: 610

17 - Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus, Serie A - Score 589

16 - Kaka, AC Milan, Serie A - Score 587

15 - Wayne Rooney – Manchester United, Premier League – Score 586

Wayne Rooney has packed a lot into his relatively short career to date, yet it is fair to say he will look back on 2008 as a particularly memorable year.

A Premier League and Champions League double was followed by a summer wedding and Rooney ended the year on a high, claiming the Club World Cup (CWC) and being named the Player of the Tournament to boot.

The success and the trophies mean it is easy to forget that the fiery Scouser has only just turned 23 and is, potentially, still some years from reaching his peak.

Indeed United manager Sir Alex Ferguson certainly believes that his No. 10 is still far from the finished product.

Speaking about Rooney after the final of the CWC he told the media: “You just hope – as with all young players – that when they get to their mid-20s they are going to be the full article in terms of their authority and timing and decision-making and how they live their lives.”

Bursting Into Life

Inconsistency, particularly when it comes to goalscoring, is certainly one charge that has been levelled at the United man.

Rooney has openly admitted this season his goals tend to come in bursts, a peculiarity which was highlighted in the autumn as he rediscovered his international goalscoring touch with a bang.

After going almost a year with a goal for England, a freshly-shorn Rooney hit five goals in three games as the Three Lions forgot all about their Euro 2008 disappointment and began their World Cup qualifying campaign in some style, sweeping aside Croatia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

More Than Just A Goalscorer

Yet there is so much more to Rooney than just goals, even though he contributed 18 in total to United’s double-winning campaign, including 12 goals in the Premier League.

Whilst this was completely eclipsed by Cristiano Ronaldo, it didn’t tell the whole story.
 
The former Everton man also possessed the Premier League’s third highest assist record with 13, a statistic that merely highlights Rooney’s importance to the team as a whole.

He has continued the new season in similar style and has already reached one goalscoring landmark in 2008.

The England international hit the 100th goal of his professional career at Eastlands against Manchester City as the Red Devils took the derby honours.

Wide Boy

Of course, it is Rooney’s very versatility that often works against him and sees manager Ferguson often push him to play out wide, a position he does not favour but accepts without complaint.

The striker’s best position continues to be the subject of some debate, yet there is no question of where Rooney wants to play; a central attacking role.

However, in the CWC final, Rooney played wide left again and scored the winner, leading Ferguson to remark: “Success is always good for you, especially on a high level when you win man of the match and score the goal. Wayne's positional play when I played him over towards the left, was fantastic.

“He wasn't just a threat. He defended well and did everything over on that side of the pitch. He was a real handful and Quito just couldn't contain him.

“It was educational for him to play a position where he made such an impact and for us, it was an insight into maybe where we could play him in the future, but his main thrust was without doubt through the middle.”

Tevez Or Berbatov?

It is not just different positions Rooney has to handle either, it is different partnerships. He began the year playing with Carlos Tevez, a fruitful strike duo that showed almost telepathic understanding at times.

However, he has finished the year up alongside Dimitar Berbatov, his laid-back style very much the antithesis of Rooney’s raging bull.

Whilst Ferguson has favoured Berbatov and Rooney as his front two, curiously the English champions have looked nothing like the dynamic attacking force of last season since the Bulgarian’s arrival.

Yet the Red Devils notoriously tend to reach top gear in the second half of the season and it will be interesting to see whether Berbatov and Rooney can create the fearsome attacking partnership Ferguson obviously envisaged when he handed Spurs £30.75 million for their striker.

Stamping Out Trouble

For all Rooney’s goals and assists perhaps his greatest asset is his sheer enthusiasm for the game.

The striker’s fire, desire and passion ensure he is a firm fans’ favourite, despite his Scouse accent.

Yet it is this very sparky nature that often lands him in trouble and 2008 was no different from any other year with Rooney courting controversy with his conduct.

An alleged stamp against AaB Alborg defender Kasper Risgard went unpunished by UEFA, a decision Jose Mourinho, amongst others, was not particularly impressed with.

Whilst Rooney’s temperament has undoubtedly improved it is not the first time he has found himself in the spotlight, and there is little to suggest it will be the last.

Wayne’s World

The incident against Aalborg ensured that Rooney was very much in the spotlight towards the end of the year as United travelled to Japan for the Club World Cup. However, this time he stole the headlines for all the right reasons.

The striker was left out of the starting line up for the semi final against Gamba Osaka but arrived as a second half substitute to net a brace and help United to a 5-3 win.

Rooney followed this up by hitting the winner in the final against Liga de Quito as United were crowned World Champions.

As reward for his efforts he received a Toyota Prius from the tournament sponsors, his prize for being named the player of the tournament.

Whilst Rooney, very politely, claimed he would happily keep the car, whether it gets much use sitting next to the Aston Martins and Bentleys in his garage remains to be seen.

Yet the tournament in Japan was a fitting end to Rooney’s year, a player, Sir Alex Ferguson calls, “the best young player I have seen in my time.” And he should know, he’s seen a few.

Team Prizes

FA Premier League 2007/08
UEFA Champions League 2007/08
FA Community Shield 2008
FIFA Club World Cup 2008

Personal Accolades

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball 2008
100 Career Goals

Gill Clark, Goal.com