Fittingly, Rooney 2004: World at His Feet is only half an hour long, when you expect any documentary these days to drag on for 60 minutes at least. It sweeps you up, flashes a moment of fantastical sporting immortality at you, then dumps you back down to earth, leaving you tearful and rueful but still tingling. It’s over before it’s begun. It’s how it felt to be an England supporter watching Wayne Rooney play at the European Championships 20 years ago.
World at His Feet captures perhaps the most magical thing football can give its fans, almost all of whom are people who played the game as kids until they grew up and realised they were not, in fact, the best in the world. Watching your team win a match is good and watching them win a trophy is better, but nothing is quite like watching a player who is basically still a child, who hasn’t yet been jaded by fame, money, injury and self-doubt, who thinks they’re the best in the world … and they actually are.
