Source: Daily_Mail
Wonderful Rooney can be as good as Ronaldo, says Sir Alex Ferguson
Amazingly, it is more than five years since Wayne Rooney sat behind a table at Old Trafford and — watched by his teenage girlfriend, Coleen — mumbled through one of Manchester United’s most forgettable introductory press conferences.
On the field, though, Rooney was a different character, and his debut performance — a hat-trick against Turkey’s Fenerbahce — remains perhaps the most impressive of all those great players to pass through the care of England’s biggest football club.
To this day, his manager Sir Alex Ferguson remains impressed, and it says everything for Rooney’s progress that he marks the fifth anniversary of that game established as United’s most important player and set to match former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as a world player of the year.
Ferguson said: ‘There are some great players out there. Kaka, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the best three at the moment, and I think Wayne can get to that level if he keeps making progress.
‘It was a marvellous start to score a hat-trick on his debut. He wasn’t really fit as he had not played for about 10 weeks. It was a remarkable feat. His progress since then has at no point disappointed us.
‘When we signed him as a kid we thought he would become a really top player and he is going in that direction without question. He is blessed with certain ingredients that only certain great players have. He has that hunger and determination.
'They want to win every match and every training session. That will never change. He is blessed with that, and these are wonderful things to take into a game of football these days.
‘You sometimes wonder about the criticism over the money players get paid. But when you look at the amount of effort Wayne puts in then he is worth every penny. He plays as if he means it. It’s a wonderful thing to have.’
Having suffered at the hands of Ferguson’s attempts to make the most of Ronaldo in Europe last season, Rooney began this European campaign thankful to be restored to his favoured position as a central striker.
Rooney
Dream debut: Rooney notches his third in his Champions League debut for United against Fenerbache
That will be the case against German champions Wolfsburg, when he will be partnered in a straightforward 4-4-2 formation by either Dimitar Berbatov or Michael Owen, who has recovered from a slight groin problem. Rooney has not always flourished in this competition.
His efforts in United’s final appearances — both the victory in Moscow and last season’s defeat in Rome — were not of his usual high standard, but a run of games as a central player should help.
‘Wayne has had some fantastic games in Europe and, to be honest, some disappointing games,’ Ferguson said.
‘But he will continue to improve. He has played central this season and will play central in this game. He is a funny animal. He sees himself as being able to do everything. He sees himself as a good centre half, for example, and I wouldn’t be against that.’
Having begun work on his coaching badges, it is clear Rooney has quickly developed from impetuous teenager to long-term planner. Ferguson joked yesterday that the 23-year-old sees himself as ‘a coach, a manager and a referee’, and went on to talk again about his inbuilt desire, a point backed up by United central defender Jonny Evans.
Evans, on standby in case Rio Ferdinand suffers further back or thigh trouble, said: ‘He is a great player. He gives 100 per cent and is a nightmare when you are in his team in training as he is always complaining and always wants to win. But that’s what you want.
Rooney
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‘His form has been great this season and he has scored a lot of goals. He is playing in his most dangerous position.’
Having won in Istanbul a fortnight ago, United would appear to have overcome one of Group B’s most significant obstacles already. Ferguson always aims to get to 10 points as quickly as possible and it is feasible last year’s beaten finalists could finish this group stage with maximum points.
Ferguson was laid-back, even giving an insight into his weekend as he said it was not until he opened the papers on Monday that he realised his team were top of the Barclays Premier League.
‘That was all down to Chelsea losing, but it is still early doors,’ he said.
‘You would rather be there than not, but it is early. There are too many mountains to climb. It was a normal Saturday night. Got back from Stoke and watched the telly but I didn’t watch the football.’
United will probably come up against former Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins at Old Trafford, and the Nigerian thinks the departures of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez have improved Ferguson’s team.
He may learn if he is right about that on Wednesday night.
