Rooney relishing return to form with No.10 role
Published 23:01 27/04/11 By David McDonnell
Six months ago Wayne Rooney was in the grip of a professional and personal crisis – his world a dark place.
Out of form, beset by injury, his private life the subject of lurid tales and his future uncertain after threatening to quit Manchester United, Rooney was an outcast.
Banished to the US to sort out his mental and physical state while his team-mates contested the Manchester derby, there were big doubts he would ever be the same player.
But his imperious return to form, capped by a match-winning display in Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg victory over Schalke, has brought his remarkable revival full circle.
United’s progress to the brink of the Champions League Final and a record 19th League title is down to many factors, including a role which brings out Rooney’s best.
Liberated of the defensive duties which have shackled his creative instincts in the past, Rooney is now excelling in a deeper-lying position behind Javier Hernandez.
Against Schalke, Rooney’s influence was such he drew comparisons with Michel Platini, the three-time European Footballer of the Year, considered to be the ultimate play-maker.
Harmony in Rooney’s previously troubled personal life has also played a key role in his on-field renaissance.
On the field, United are reaping the benefits, with Rooney playing like a man possessed, with 12 goals in his last 20 games and 14 assists, having rediscovered his mojo.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson has joined the Rooney love-in, the United boss referring to the striker as “Wazza”, his dressing-room nickname.
“Obviously it’s been a lot different for me in the second-half of the season, compared to the first,” said Rooney.
“I’m a lot happier in my life and happier with the way I’m playing. I’m feeling settled.
“I think I’m playing well in a new role which I played a lot when I was younger, and I’m really enjoying it.
“Javier is playing fantastically well for us up front, and it seems to be working for us.
“I understand the way Chicharito plays and knew that if I was playing up front with him I’d have to change and play a bit deeper.
“He’s scoring a lot of important goals and I’m enjoying getting on the ball, linking play and getting a few goals too.
“You can influence games a lot more from there as well.
“Sometimes, when you play up front on your own, you’re not really in the game as much – you’re waiting for your opportunity to score.
“When you play in the position I’m in now, you’re always involved. You can get on the ball, create and score. As a footballer, you enjoy that.”
Rooney’s 12 goals since the turn of the year have been of huge significance in United’s pursuit of glory.
From the overhead kick in the Manchester derby, to his winner at Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg, plus his Schalke heroics, Rooney is once again the man for the big occasion.
The emergence of Hernandez as Rooney’s first-choice strike partner has also been a key ingredient in his stunning revival. Playing behind Hernandez, Rooney is given licence to drop deep and control the tempo of games, from where he can demonstrate his full repertoire of long and short-range passing.
Paul Scholes is known as ‘Satnav’ at United for his unerring accuracy in finding team-mates, but that nickname could be passed on to Rooney after his passing masterclass in Germany.
Rooney sprayed the ball around the pitch with all the flair of an urban graffiti artist.
His reverse pass to Ryan Giggs for United’s opening goal was so outrageous it took out four Schalke defenders.
United used to soak up pressure in Europe and rely on hitting teams on the break, but their approach is measured now, enabling them to dominate possession and dictate the pattern of games.
“We’re controlling games a lot better now than in the lead up to the last two Champions League finals we played in [in 2008 and 2009],” said Rooney.
“Then, we were all about counter-attacking and pace. Now, I think we’re controlling games with more possession.
“We’re using our experience to get through games and it’s working for us.”
Patrice Evra recalled the bleak period last October when Rooney threatened to leave, questioning the United squad’s quality before signing a new deal after an unseemly public contract dispute.
“Everyone was criticising us, saying it was the end of the empire,” said Evra.
“I remember in my interview that I said, ‘You have to pay the musician at the end of the show’. I still think the same.
“Even in that bad position we still believed we could win.
“United always believe until the end. How many goals do we score in the last minute?
“That’s the right spirit – we always believe we can win in this team.”
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