For a player who scored so many goals, won so many trophies and was so brilliant for so long, the brilliance of Wayne Rooney is often forgotten.
That’s according to Rooney’s former Manchester United teammate, Rafael da Silva, who has moved to remind people of how important the now-Derby County manager was to the team – and the success of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The duo were actually only at United together for five seasons but they went on to create one of the most devastating attacking forces the game has ever seen.
Ronaldo and Rooney, accompanied by one or two of the assortment of excellent forwards United also had through the years, developed a partnership that yielded goals and helped United lift the Champions League in 2008 as well as reach the final again a year later.
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It was the Portuguese who began to snag the headlines, however, as he became the star of the show, scored buckets of goals and won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in 2008.
Yet Rafael has moved to point out that Ronaldo wouldn’t have been able to score so many goals – like the breathtaking counter-attack in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal in 2009 – if it wasn’t for Rooney’s selflessness and quality in the build-up.
“Sometimes people do forget,” Rafael says in a new biography on the life of Rooney, ‘Rooney: Teenage Kicks – The street footballer who ruled the world,’ written by Wayne Barton.
“I would add an important point. The people who matter, the people who understand, they don’t forget. People who already appreciated Wayne. United supporters. His team-mates. You can include Ji-Sung Park as well.
“We all knew how crucial they were to that counter-attack. Football is like this – these days more than ever. They look at the goalscorer and he gets the attention.
“Rooney made a great pass. Without him, without Park, that goal doesn’t exist. That’s the truth of football – you need those other players. Even a player like Ronaldo can’t do it all alone.
“Wayne and Cristiano were not similar players but their styles complemented and I would say each completed the other.
“I think Rooney did a lot, he almost changed his style because of Ronaldo scoring so many goals. Rooney kept scoring but he dropped back to create more and make more assists.
“He’s such an intelligent player. He could play midfield, on the wing, defensive midfield. He could even play right-back, I’m sure!
“His knowledge and understanding of the game is so great that he would do it and already appreciate everything that it takes to play in that position. I love players like that.”
*Taken from Rooney: Teenage Kicks – The street footballer who ruled the world, written by Wayne Barton and published by Reach Sport on February 17.
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