Wayne Rooney
Regardless of what your opinion of England is, love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s a shame to think this World Cup could go by without Wayne Rooney.
You have to feel for the kid. He was electric at Euro 2004 until (ironically enough) he broke his foot in the semi quarter finals against Portugal. It was at that moment you could feel the wind being sucked right out of the English sails. And now this – having to potentially sit out a World Cup, or, perhaps worse, play at only half capacity coming off an injury. It has to be tough and immensely disappointing for him personally.
I think most fans would agree – the World Cup is at its finest when the World’s best players are healthy and performing at, or above their ability. That’s the soccer we all want to see. I realize that is an unrealistic and naive expectation in this day and age of 40 game domestic seasons, Internationals, Friendlies, World Cup qualifying, Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup, and so on, but one can still hope that the World Cup is truly a showcase of the best teams made up of the best talent on the planet.
The upside for Rooney is, of course, that he is young. But that has to be shallow solace for a young player who had so many expectations on his shoulders – both personally and nationally. I only hope that he can have a miraculous recovery and is able to still play his part on the biggest stage in the world, not necessarily for England, but for fans of the game everywhere.
