Wayne Rooney – A name that evokes emotion amongst the 3 Lions faithful, a player who has been their mainstay for 13 years with 109 caps that has seen him being their all-time leading goal-scorer, his role in the team has come under some serious threat. A knee injury that has seen the talismanic No 10 miss out of Premier League action coupled with the fact that a wide number of attacking options being available to Roy Hodgson, time may soon be running out for him. However despite all this, he needs to be kept in the England team as we analyse his importance to this team:
An able leader:
He is a leader in the truest sense. Even though England did manage to outsmart Germany in the recent friendly, his presence in the Euros could spur and take the team to the next level altogether. Not only because of his goal scoring prowess but the way he can pump up the whole team is second to none. We all have seen United’s performance this season go awry and yet against their 2 fierce rivals aka Manchester City and Liverpool, it was the pumped up speech from their captain that saw them getting the best results. He is one player that wears his heart out on his sleeves and England could well use his experience in the upcoming Euros, especially when the going might get tough for the team.
Performances that speak for themselves:
One of the biggest headaches for English coach would be whom to choose and whom to leave out. With Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy racking up goals and leading the goal scoring chart in this season of EPL, they have made a strong case for themselves being selected ahead of Rooney. However despite all their impressive performances, it shouldn’t be forgotten how crucial and important Rooney has been for the team. He found the back of the net in 3 consecutive matches during their Euro qualification phase that saw them securing their place for the tournament. It was during this qualification that saw him overtake Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for England.
The Proper Mentor:
It is no secret that England’s “Golden Generation” that featured the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen etc failing regularly on the global stage despite the abundance of talent they possessed individually and being an indispensable part for their respective clubs, yet they could never play together as a team that would transcend England on the global stage. Now as we see a new upcoming generation of English players that has grabbed the world’s attention, they need an able mentor to guide them, a person that binds them and inspires them to success on the biggest football tournaments. And who better than Wazza who saw disappointment from close angles. He could very well do what Ronaldinho did to Messi, during his Barcelona days. The likes of Harry Kane, Sterling, Alli, Stones, are all pivotal for England’s success in the future, Wayne Rooney is the perfect person who with his 13 years of experience for the national team can bind them together and make them a force to reckon with for next decade.
So whilst England will eventually look to settle in a life post Wayne Rooney at some point and given the plethora of attacking resources they have at the moment, they must be careful of how they handle this situation which can determine the way they are seen in upcoming years.