Well now what do you know off-ankle Wayne Rooney wants to be Manchester United’s captain. He needs to sort out his ankle problems first, what good is a captain on the injury list?
It is not surprising when the 22-year-old, who has been an Old Trafford boy for three years, says he would like to be seen in the same light as Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. I feel he needs another two years to prove his leadership capabilities. It is one thing to play well, but quite another to be leading your club on the pitch.
“But, as I say, there are still a few people there now who would probably be likely captains so you never know.
“I love playing at United and hopefully one day, if I got chosen to be captain, then it would be a great honour,” he told Sport magazine.
“If I got the chance to be captain of United then I would be delighted with that.” Rooney said.
“I think you play football to win things, to make people happy and to make history,” he continued. “If I can have half of the success that the Busby Babes did at United then I’d be delighted with that. You definitely want to be remembered and not forgotten, so I suppose everybody wants to be a part of history.” Rooney closed off.
Rooney was also heard saying that he wants to be a legend one day that people will remember long after he has gone. He is playing very well this season and if he carries on then he will indeed be revered one day as a true United hero.
Well, if i had to bet, i think Cristiano Ronaldo will be man united captain before Rooney.
Remember, the armband is not always given to the player with the most raw talent (hence Neville being chosen over, say, Giggs or Scholes). Experience counts, Sir, along with unbridled determination. Rooney DOES NOT stop running throughout the entire game. Ronaldo puts out spurts. Not that I’m saying he doesn’t play a round game, but he produces MOMENTS of magic. He ghosts, which is what enables him to appear out of nowhere and make the plays. Rooney’s presence is always felt when he is on the pitch. Rooney for Cap.
Yes I agree, but Rooney as a captain, with all his ankle problems? I just don’t know. What is the point in upsetting a potential captain and the team if your new captain (Rooney) are not spending much time in the middle due to injuries. It is going to be a tough choice when the time comes.
chris,
“Remember, the armband is not always given to the player with the most raw talent”
i know… i don’t think ronaldo will be the captain because of his talent, but because of his mental attitude. Ronaldo is already the portuguese national team captain, and you don’t even imagine Rooney being the captain of the england squad for now, do you?
No, frankly I don’t, because England has other world-class players. I’m not saying Portugal is a one man show, but come on, man for man is Portugal really as good as England? Going on results you’d have to say even better, but if the English team would ever play as a cohesieve TEAM, you’d see a repeat of ‘66. Ronaldo is a stand out player for Portugal, a star in the middle of hard working almost mediocre supports. Rooney is a hard working, damn good player in a star-studded, underachieving England side (just another one, as we’ve seen over the years). Scolari has made him captian because Scolari likes flair and passion (as we’ve seen with his attempts at boxing). Ferguson is a more buckle-down and PLAY kinda guy. It has to be said Ronaldo is no Best, Cantona or Law. YET. He doesn’t bring sparkling influence to every game he plays. YET. Rooney already has the work rate of your Brucies, your Keanos and your Nevilles. I honestly can’t say that Rooney absolutely SHOULD be captain when the time comes, but right now if you look at the two players and the decision had to be made right now, you’d have to say it should go to Rooney. Oh, and Riaan, um, do you know who the current first-choise Captain is?
“man for man is Portugal really as good as England?”
Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Simão Sabrosa, Ricardo Carvalho, Miguel, Maniche, Quaresma. Give me your great names? Not talking about the stars that give up of the national team: Rui Costa and Luis Figo.
“Ronaldo is a stand out player for Portugal, a star in the middle of hard working almost mediocre supports.”
You must be joking, right?
It’s funny how a one star team, full of hard working almost mediocre supports, has for instante a player, an under 21 called Miguel Veloso, that Man United is willing to pay 30 millions euros? Funny…
Nani (30m€ for Man United), Jorge Andrade, Fernando Meira, Pepe (30m€ for Real Madrid), Bruno Alves… Manuel Fernandes (22m€ for Valencia)? Do you even know the players that play for Portugal? Tell me 10 england players worthing more than 20 million euros?
“Mediocre supports”? Still believe in that?
And i may remind you that Nani, Manuel Fernandes or Pepe aren’t regular in the line up squad for Portugal… just in case you wonder.
It’s a royal shame that larger clubs are so willing to pay so much money for mediocrity. If Man U pay 30 Million for Veloso I will post a YouTube video of me eating half a shoe. It will be posted under Chris Eats Shoe and you can look it up when that happens. When’s the last time that an England international was transfered? Well, Beckham, for ***250 MILLION*** to basically go into retirement early, but, you know, we’ll ignore that. Much as I dislike half of them every English player is a fans household name. You ask anyone to name the starting XI of Portugal and I’d bet less than half would be able to. Ask the same people about England and probably 90% could plus the subs. And as for mediocre supports, yes, I still believe that. All of the “stars” you speak of (save Ronaldo and Nani) play for one-man clubs. They make their club. Then when they get truely good they get snapped up by a club that means something. When was the last time a Portugese had a full out impact on a Champions League match other than Ronaldo or Nani? When is the last time that a mainly Portugese club won the Champions League? They’re a decent national team and yes they have a better record than England but had you actually READ what I wrote, England have underpreformed for years. If they bothered to play as a true TEAM they’d destroy everyone. And if they bother to put Foster in goal when he’s fit, not that IDIOT Carson.
Lolz, I STILL can’t get over that 30 million for Veloso comment. You do realize we got Nani AND Anderson for almost that ammount, don’t you? Why in HELL would we pay that much for a bench player? We have a stacked team everywhere you look. We have stars starting and stars on the bench. If he wants to come to Old Trafford half as bad as he says he’ll come for less than half that.
Chris,
“You ask anyone to name the starting XI of Portugal and I’d bet less than half would be able to.”
even if this is true, what does it mean? But you can bet that for England is the same… i only can talk as a portuguese, and here in our country, almost every football supporter knows the name of the starting XI of Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool – but if you ask them the name of the starting XI of the England squad, they simply don’t know. You are confusing the prestige of the premiership, with the prestige of the england squad… it’s a very diferent thing.
At one point you say:
“When was the last time a Portugese had a full out impact on a Champions League match other than Ronaldo or Nani? When is the last time that a mainly Portugese club won the Champions League?”
As for a player, I understand that you don’t give to much attention to the champions league… if you did, you’ll remember Simão Sabrosa – one great goal against Manchester in a free kick, and a superb goal one year later against Liverpool – the problem of Simao wasn’t the fact that he was a bad player, but that he played for a non so big team: Benfica (that happen to be the team i support here in Portugal) – and Simao is far from being one of the portuguese best players. If you want to talk a little about F.C.Porto and Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Quaresma (in recent times) we can talk also… and let me remind you that Porto was european champion in 2004, i think you had forgotten that.
“If they bothered to play as a true TEAM they’d destroy everyone.”
I read what you have written, the problem is that you, as almost every english supporter, don’t realize that England don’t play as you think they can play because they have a lack of criativity, easily verified with the lack of a true number 10. England squad is to predictble (with Erickson you improved). And i’m trying not to talk about your goalkeepers.
About the 30 million for Veloso comment, i hope you realize i was talking in Euros… and i don’t know how much you think Man United paid for Nani and Anderson, but it was 30 million each… you paid 60 million for two players, and now, i’m expecting you to pay 30 million for one other player. If you saw the portuguese championship, you’ll understand how good Miguel Veloso is. Besides that, he his a defense midfielder, much better than any other player Man United has in this precise moment for that position.
I’d agree that I was talking about England in two lights. When I say we won’t pay 30 million (and I stand by that, and my little wager
) I mean it because the midfield is stacked. We have to give up trying to replace Keano, simply because it isn’t going to happen. Thankfully we’ve began to build a fully attacking midfield, and the fact is is that we don’t NEED another midfielder at this point, much less another 30 million one. I don’t mean to say that he isn’t a good player, and if it came off that way, I’m sorry. The fact is is that it would make no sense to me to bring in another midfielder for any price at this point in time.
As for the Portugese national team, really results are all that matter, not makeup. I can sit here all day and bash them but I have to admit they get the job done, regardless of my views. As for England not having creativity, it is there. Perhaps not with the flair of Portugal or Brazil, but it’s there. On an individual basis, England has creative players. Rooney, Owen (when fit), Gerrard (much as I dislike him), Lampard (same comment), all are creative, but they have yet to show it on the international stage.
Yes, I had forgot about Porto and for that I apologize. On the player basis it’s the same though. The same in terms of the reason why I believe Ronaldo will not be the Captain. They can produce moments of brilliance, but not on a sustained basis. It’s pretty much why Ronaldinho, Messi, nor Henry are captain of Barca. Managers look for sustanince.
I don’t mean to belittle the Portugese team or make the England team into something it’s not (and I’d have to agree with you on the keepers
. Frankly I’m stuck from the US, and this is the only place I can vent about football because none of my friends have a clue about it. And like I said before, results and points matter. We’ll pick this up when England put points on the board lol.
O and I still hold to the shoe bet. Not in the sense of being an ass but because I think it would be a real mistake for Man U to shell out that kind of money for another brilliant player reserved to a best of 50% of the games. So keep and eye out for it
Watching Veloso in today’s match I’d agree Veloso could easily fetch 30 million, I really don’t think that Man U should or will pay it for him though.
Veloso played a great game. That rocket of a shot he sent in had my family holding their breath until it went wide – seemed like it took forever for that half a second to go by. If United can afford him, I say spend it.
Nani has had back to back disappointing games.
Anderson should play in place of Hargreaves permanently. His creativity and enthusiasm for the game are easy to see. Anderson always looks as though he’s having a good time on the pitch!
Carrick played MUCH better today. He had several VERY good passes, and even got his head to a ball near the goal.
Kuszczak was a disaster to begin the match. My boys (9 and 11) both know to protect the near post. An inexcusable mistake that will hopefully see his playing time reduced further.
Saha was disappointing for me again. I don’t know if he’s not “match fit” yet or what but his anticipation and speed of play seem sluggish. Perhaps he hasn’t found his stride yet, but having him in the line-up right now is hurting the club. Give his spot up top to someone with something to prove.
Creativity alone won’t win matches, plus Anderson doesn’t bring it 100% of the time. We need a holding midfielder in the tougher games (aka Arsenal, Liverpool, Milan(s), Juve, etc.). Owen’s a good player. Just because he doesn’t bring flair to the game doesn’t mean he’s ineffective. He’s one of the greatest holding midfielders in the game today, and he will prove useful in the future.
Kuszczak made a mistake, who doesn’t? He made it because he’s had next to no playing time this season, give him time and he’ll come through.
You want Saha’s spot for someone else? Who else? Set up a 4-5-1? Tried and failed. We’re too attacking minded to play it right. Another striker? WHO? Our great prospects are either at other clubs or still wearing training wheels. Get him match fit. We’ll see him come through.
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