Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Wayne Rooney's world still unfulfilled
THERE was a wistful sense of timing about Wayne Rooney’s omission against Real Madrid being followed on Wednesday by the excellent TV documentary about the life and tragic death of Laurie Cunningham, who played for the Spanish giants.
It highlighted the way that so often England’s most naturally gifted footballers have fallen short of attaining the true greatness the nation yearns for them to accomplish.
Paul Gascoigne offers the most striking example of this.
Rooney has won the Champions League with Manchester United but never quite filled that stage in the way Cristiano Ronaldo has done for United and Real.
Against this, he has been a tireless team player. But he still seems to operate more on instinct, as if he hasn’t grown to command his talent in the way the very best have done.
The story of his England career is unfortunately all about disappointment and injury. Perhaps now, at 27, Rooney’s bullish physical build means the chance to fully take charge of all that ability has passed.
Not a tragedy like Cunningham’s death in a car crash at 31, of course. A persistent kind of unfulfillment for English football, though.