Rooney raring to go as Man United step up preparations to wrestle title back from City

Wayne Rooney was all smiles as he gets back into the swing of things with Manchester United.

 The England striker missed their pre-season trip to South Africa and the Far East after being given extra time off after Euro 2012.

 But he is now raring to go as the squad were put through their paces at Carrington on Friday morning.

 In just over two weeks, United start their Barclays Premier League campaign away to Rooney's former club Everton on Monday night.

 Between now and then, boss Sir Alex Ferguson will hope to have Rooney in top shape as they launch their bid to wrestle the title back from arch rivals Manchester City United travel to Norway to take on Valerenga on Sunday before a friendly match against European heavyweights Barcelona three days later in Gothernburg.

 They then have a final warm-up against Hannover in Germany before returning for a week of preparations in Manchester ahead of their opening fixture.

 Rooney is one of several players who are now back in full training after Euro 2012, while David De Gea is back earlier than expected following Spain's shock exit from the group stages of the Olympic football tournament.

 Ferguson is still keen to bring in one or two new faces, with Brazilian forward Lucas Moura high on his list of priorities.

 Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell are the first two new arrivals at Old Trafford this summer.

Read more »

Player Profile : Manchester United star Wayne Rooney

Despite a disappointing World Cup in South Africa, Rooney is still undoubtedly viewed as one of the best players in the world.

 The Manchester United striker has been firmly in the spotlight since first breaking into the England side aged 17 and has the potential to stay at the top of the game for years to come.

 Having worked his way through the Everton academy, a 16-year-old Rooney shot to the world's attention with a stunning goal against Arsenal in 2002 and showed skill beyond his years before Manchester United signed him for around £30 million after the 2004 European Championships - in which he had played a starring role.

 The powerful frontman made an immediate impact with a hat-trick on his debut - a Champions League victory over Fenerbache in September 2004 - and went on to help United to three straight Premier League titles between 2006-2009, while also collecting numerous personal awards.

 The 2009-10 season represented the pinnacle of Rooney's goalscoring career to date, as he plundered 34 goals in 42 games in all competitions for United.

 Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid allowed Rooney to flourish as he became the focal point of the Old Trafford attack, and he spearheaded United's forward line in style.

 Rooney scored the winning goal in the 2010 Carling Cup final and though United missed out on domestic and European glory, he was rewarded for an impressive campaign with the PFA Players' Player of the Year Award.

 In September 2008, Rooney became the youngest player in league history to make 200 appearances but after poor form and a tabloid scandal after the 2010 World Cup, he admitted he wanted to leave Manchester United.

 It took just three days for him to perform a U-turn though, committing his future to the club until 2015 amid a media melee, and sealing another title at the end of the season.

 Strengths: Powerful and strong on the ball, Rooney's ability to pick a pass, shoot from distance and unselfishly work for the team is unparalleled in world football. His passion can never been called into question.

 Weaknesses: He suffers when the red mist descends and has a propensity to lose his cool in key games. Sometimes an impetuous customer, prone to easy frustration.

 Career high: His stunning debut hat-trick for Manchester United is a strong contender, but it cannot top being named as the best player in the country by his fellow professionals, as he scooped the PFA Players' Player of the Year Award in for the 2009-10 season.

 Career low: Being sent off against Portugal in the 2006 World Cup for stamping on a rather delicate area of Ricardo Carvalho's, after working so hard to be fit for the tournament following a metatarsal injury.

 Style: Powerful, hard-working, passionate; an unselfish superstar. Quotes: "We all know football players at the top level are blessed with high wages, it's no secret. But Rooney would play for 100 euros-a-week. You can see the fire in his eyes. It's that fire which makes him the best of the best." World Player of the Year Lionel Messi praises Rooney's passion.

 Trivia: Rooney has "Just Enough Education To Perform" tattooed on his right forearm. The line is the title of an album by his favourite band, The Stereophonics.

Read more »

Hodgson defends Rooney over Capello criticism

England manager Roy Hodgson has defended Wayne Rooney's performance at Euro 2012 after Fabio Capello's criticism of the forward. 

 The former Three Lions manager hit out at Rooney's 'lost in translation' jibe on Tuesday by suggesting that he could 'only understand Scottish'. 

 Hodgson, however, leapt to the defence of the 26-year-old before continuing to praise the squad for their efforts in Poland and Ukraine, where they fell in the quarter-finals to Italy. Capello is entitled to his opinions, I suppose," Hodgson said. 

I don't know what relationship he would have had with Wayne but I always think it's a bit cheap to kid on a player who was so anxious to do well. 

His attitude was magnificent. He was putting in extra work in training because he was concerned he was behind the others having missed the first two games through suspension. "He was trying to do extra work and we were trying to put the brakes on. 

His desire to do well was enormous. "In the final game (against Italy) he, along with one or two other players, didn't play to the level he can but that's what football is about. 

If every player was a robot and played at the same level in every game then football would be a very simple game and we wouldn't need coaches. 

Aside from a promising opening 20 minutes in which Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck were unlucky not to score, England were vastly outplayed by Italy on Sunday and eventually succumbed to defeat in the dreaded penalty shootout. 

Maybe it (the quarter-final) was a bridge too far," Hodgson said. "We ran out of legs a bit in the final part and didn't keep the ball as well as we should have done but it was a valiant effort to take the game to penalties. 

There was a brief period in the first half when we showed what we could do but we couldn't keep that up. Getting to penalties was the best we could do. "I don't think we could have done much more. 

The players' focus couldn’t have been better, and the effort couldn't have been better. "In the first half that showed. 

At half-time I didn't see any reason to believe we couldn't win the game. But in the second half and extra-time it was obvious they were in the ascendancy and we were thankful for some magnificent defending to make sure we stayed in the game. 

There was no surrender. It was a great effort and I feel very proud of what the players did for me on the pitch. But there will always be recriminations if you don't get as far as you'd like, and achieve what you want to."

Read more »

Mancini: Balotelli was better than Rooney

Roberto Mancini believes Italy's Mario Balotelli eclipsed Wayne Rooney during Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final with England.

 Rooney was a peripheral figure as Roy Hodgson's side struggled to contain Italy in Kiev, and Cesare Prandelli's outfit eventually prevailed on penalties after a 0-0 draw. 

 Mancini has hit back at those who have questioned Balotelli's part in the victory after missing a number of gilt-edged chances, saying that his City marksman outperformed Rooney. 

I think perhaps many are underestimating what (Balotelli) did," Mancini told the Corriere dello Sport. "He was always at the heart of the game, had five or six chances, and was a bit unlucky. 

But we want to compare him with Rooney, who we only noticed when it came to penalties. 'Super Mario' did much better, and he's a great striker we must support all the way." 

 The Premier League-winning manager went on to praise the play of Prandelli's side, who controlled much of the last-eight fixture on their way to a semi-final meeting with Germany. "The Azzurri dominated almost the entire match, by far and away, as if they came down from another planet," he said. 

In the second half and in extra time, they crushed England. "They took my breath away as I waited for the killer goal. That it did not come was only down to tiny details. Beyond Balotelli I saw a great Italy. 

Prandelli also made changes very well while Hodgson thought only to defend himself and had no effect. 

When (Antonio) Nocerino and (Alessandro) Diamanti came on, they gave a great boost." Italy will now compete with Germany for a place in Sunday's final.

Read more »

Abate: Rooney is one of the best players in the world

The AC Milan full-back is aware of the Manchester United striker’s offensive talents, and thinks that he will be a big danger to the Azzurri in their Euro 2012 quarter-final clash.

 The Italian admits that the Manchester United forward has the potential to create all kinds of trouble for the Azzurri back line. 

England play a lot on the flanks, are quick on the counterattack and get to the other end of the pitch with relative ease," Abate said. 

They deliver a lot of crosses and have Wayne Rooney, a striker who is a great header of the ball. 

He is a complete player, one of the best in the world. It's an incredibly tough challenge, but it will be hard for them too.

 Despite being odds on to pick up a win against England, Abate is not so certain Italy have what it takes to overcome the Three Lions and advance to the semi-finals. 

I don't think we have been favourites since the start and we are still not now that we're in the quarter-final. 

We have overcome the tricky obstacle of the group stage and now we feel that with the heart we have shown we can become something of a depth charge in this tournament.

Abate then stated that Giorgio Chiellini’s recent injury could cause Italy coach Cesare Prandelli to choose a different formation on Sunday. 

This side consists of many great champions and our ability to switch formations during the course of a match has never been a problem. In fact, it's another sting to our bow. 

 The coach has a great relationship with all of us and he is always there to talk to, he is a   real tracksuit manager, a good teacher and a good talker: the whole squad enjoys working with him and results have reflected that.

 Abate has not allowed the huge nature of the occasion to sidetrack his aims, but the 25-year-old is well aware that the entire nation will be watching Sunday’s match. 

 "It's an incredible feeling, you get shivers when you're preparing to walk out of the tunnel and when you listen to the national anthems, as you never know when your next chance will come. 

We are trying to transmit this passion of ours to the whole nation. 

We are a group of simple guys who are working together to realise the same dream of winning something important. 

With hard work and heart we will try our best to keep the whole nation dreaming."

Read more »

Rooney ready for redemption

Rooney

England striker Wayne Rooney said he will ensure he is ready to return after missing the first two games of Euro 2012 through suspension.

The 26-year-old has joined his England team-mates at their Hertfordshire base ahead of Saturday's friendly with Belgium at Wembley, a game in which he is not expected to feature.

But the Manchester United forward says that he will train as hard as possible to get back into Roy Hodgson's team upon the completion of his ban.

"I've had a rest and I probably needed that. Being in the squad feels good. It's a few weeks before I can play so I will aim to do some good training to be ready if needed," Rooney told TheFA.com.

The striker also expressed delight at his inclusion in Hodgson's first squad, highlighting that new managers often look to different players.

"You don't know if a new manager will have you in his plans so it was nice to know that I am," he added.

"It is important I do my training right. I have had a long time to think about missing the first games; it's disappointing but something I've dealt with and I am looking forward to the first game for the rest of the lads and hoping we can get something out of that."

And Rooney echoed the thoughts of captain Steven Gerrard, insisting that the Three Lions will take the tournament one game at a time.

"We are in a tough group so we have to be focused in every game and take each game as it comes," he continued.

"We have a lot of young players which is good so we should be fresh with lots of energy."

Read more »