Pundits and fans alike wonder, Is Wayne Rooney going to a) grow up b) become one of the best players in the world that he's shown in phases of his career? I remember seeing this 16 year old Evertonian ending Arsenal's thirty game unbeaten streak and the goal was pure class. Ever since then, we thought the sky was the limit for this player. A minus to his game is that he has a foul temper and I will get into that later. We talk about Steven Gerrard as being English best player and the great hope for England, however I truly believe that they need Wayne Rooney to wake up, grow up, and be counted.
I wouldn't say he needed the move to Manchester United to become a better player, but Sir Alex Ferguson does know how to motivate players to play at their peak. The player is an energizer bunny out there. He'll play any position that you tell him to play. I've seen in many occasions where he was playing on the outside left or right. Prime example: when they went up against Inter Milan in the second leg of the Champions League second round, he was playing on the left side of midfield to neutralize Maicon and make sure that the Brazilian wasn't running rampant on Man Utd's left side of defence. He frustrated Maicon all night and helped Man U to a 2-0 victory over Inter Milan. Christiano Ronaldo will always get all the praise but Rooney has parts to his game that are amazing. He can beat players, he's a good tackler sometimes reckless, he can straight up drop bombs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6wO3HhOu6Y) and he is a wonderful passer of the ball. He has all the tools but there is one problem to this player, it seems like most of these players have this problem.
In another blog that I've been posting, we have been talking about the temperamental genius in November. ( Temperamental Genius) This genius is one that has all the tools to become a world great however their temper usually gets the best of them. Wayne is another example of this genius. He lived in the streets of Liverpool which I could be generalizing here but I doubt he lived in the straight-laced areas of Liverpool. Wayne probably did things his way, he wanted to be a footballer so he didn't let anything stand in his way however he still probably was the troublemaker that he is now. You just don't turn into a troublemaker overnight, more than likely it happens during your childhood. And like many other geniuses he cannot handle his emotions. He's tackles recklessly, he gets in the faces of referees and other footballers, and also he mouths off to the crowd. Earlier during this season, commentators were impressed with Rooney's controlled temper and how he can be a complete footballer with a calm edge about him. Unfortunately early childhood memories creep in his head and say, "No you're wrong and I'm right" and he snaps on people. Even threw the ball at the referee last weekend against Fulham (it's now debated whether he was actually trying to throw it at the ref or he was just heaving it back to the free kick spot), then before he leaves the field after being sent off, he throws a temper tantrum. Cussing at the ref, knocking down corner flags and refusing to leave the field in a respectful manner. Sir Alex can only do so much with the players temper and I'm sure he knows that Wayne will probably never change but Alex does know that he has to curb it down to only a few instances so Man U manager tries to get into the genius's head and let Mr. Rooney know that he needs to keep himself in check or he'll be watching games from the sidelines.
Wayne still has a long career ahead of him and who knows maybe he will change his ways. He has to understand that he isn't only hurting himself, he's hurting his team, his city, and his family with some of the actions that he has exhibited. It's tough to say whether he will be in Zidane's level as a temperamental genius or will he fall into the Cassano trap and wander from club to club to find his place again. I think Rooney is right in the middle, it's tough that he'll fall into the Cassano trap because he is more committed to the game and his club than that. If you see Rooney just missing practice for "no reason" then I feel like he has a pretty good reason because he loves the game with so much intensity. Only time will tell on this temperamental genius....
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