Former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves has told Warner Bros. Discovery about the time Wayne Rooney left the entire England squad in awe and applauding his ability.
Rooney made his England debut in 2003, aged 17, and went on to enjoy a breakout Euro 2004 campaign before suffering an injury against Portugal in the quarter-finals.
The forward went on to captain England, picking up 120 caps and scoring 53 goals, and his former team-mate Hargreaves – who was a standout player at the 2006 World Cup – said Rooney’s talent was like a “mix of personalities” when he first burst onto the scene.
“He was super special, Wayne,” Hargreaves, who also played with Rooney at Manchester United, told Warner Bros. Discovery.
“He played at a level which was really abnormal for such a young kid. Even us as players, his teammates, we were looking at him thinking, ‘This is crazy’. In training, he would do stuff. I remember he did something in training once, and the whole training stopped, and everybody gave him a round of applause. I’ve never seen that ever, ever before.
“Club football, international football, but it was so breathtaking. And then you realise you’re working with something special. When he burst onto the scene, he was one of the most explosive players I’ve ever seen kick a ball. He had everything: technique, personality, aggression. The moment was never too big for him. I think that was very rare.
“I think Wayne was created to play sport, to play football. His talent was like a mix of nationalities, with Brazilian skill but this heart of a lion like the English player.
“Wayne, when he burst onto the scene, that was one of the most unique players to see, because he was skilful like a No. 10 or a centre forward, but he had the heart of a centre-back. So it was quite this cool mix that he had, which he was so blessed with.”
Asked to recall the moment Rooney brought England training to a standstill, Hargreaves added: “He just scored a goal, he dribbled through everyone. And I’m talking the best of the best with England.
“The best 25 in the country, and he’s gone and went through everyone. All the staff, all the players, just gave him a round of applause, and he just shrugged his shoulders like ‘what’s the big deal?’. I remember after we all said, ‘Wow, that was really bizarre’ you know, to watch that, because it was so in the moment, and he was just so off the cuff.
“And I think that’s what the great ones are, you watch the game and the football is so structured tactically and technically, and you almost know what’s going to come now, but the great ones make it so – they surprise you. I think that’s what that moment did for all of us. You ask anybody that was there. Anybody was there, they all remember it, it was like, ‘Wow, that was something.’”
