Wayne Rooney burst into tears when Manchester United were throwing a party to celebrate winning the Champions League - because he felt his own performance was “s***.”
When Sir Alex Ferguson’s team beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow in May 2008 to become European champions for a third time, it should have been a night to paint the Russian capital red. But Rooney felt he had sacrificed himself by playing out wide so that Cristiano Ronaldo could lead the line alongside Carlos Tevez and was substituted in extra-time as the two Premier League giants fought out a 1-1 draw.
When he found the club’s Power Development coach Mick Clegg sitting at the bar enjoying a drink with head of security Henry Kirkland while his team-mates partied, his emotions came spilling out. “After a few minutes, Wayne said something about it all being s***,” recalled Clegg.
“I asked him what he meant and he said ‘I was s*** out there’ - and he put his head on my shoulder and the tears came. He was really emotional. I put an arm around him and it was clear that the fact he had been played out of position to accommodate other players had hurt him deeply.
“When elite footballers are playing as a team they almost get wired into each other and they play to the instructions the manager gives them. They accept that when they are on the pitch, but afterwards they examine their own contribution. Football is a team game. But players also have to play for themselves.
“This was the biggest game of Wayne’s life and he didn’t like what he saw. Footballers don’t usually show their emotions - but to be any good at the game you really have got to be passionate. That’s what drives the best. Wayne still had the mentality to criticise himself the night he won a Champions League medal because the next time he was in a game of that magnitude he wanted to perform at his best level.”
Rooney was again on the wing when United were beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in Rome the following season, with even Ronaldo unable to make a mark against the Catalans. When the two clubs met again in the 2011 final at Wembley, he scored a sensational equaliser before United were beaten 3-1.
- Mick Clegg: The Power and the Glory is published by Reach Sport.
