Rooney gets Raul vote

The Real Madrid forward believes the United player can go as far as he wants

IN SEPTEMBER 1995, AN 18-YEAR-OLD BY the name of Raúl González scored a hat-trick for Real Madrid in only the third Champions League match of his career against Ferencvaros in a 6-1 win. Nine years later, an 18-year-old by the name of Wayne Rooney was scoring a hat-trick on his Manchester United and Champions League debut as they crushed Fenerbahçe 6-2. Even the opponents sound the same.
The mild-mannered Spaniard has far more in common with the assassin-faced Rooney than their different temperaments may suggest. Raúl knows all about being billed as your team’s and country’s saviour before you are old enough to hold a driving licence and three European Cup winner’s medals and a record-breaking 50 tournament goals later, he is backing Rooney to turn out fine for United and England.



“He is a fabulous player, a match-winner,” Raúl said. “What is impressive about him is that he has so much character and that is important because it spreads to other players in the team and transmits to the opposition. When a team plays against Rooney, they know they are playing against a side that is going to give absolutely everything.

“The only defect he has is his temperament. In some periods of certain games it can distract him and it prevents him from doing the most important thing, which is to play his football. But he is young and if he manages to calm himself down, he is going to be a very important player in the next World Cup for England. If he concentrates on playing his football on the pitch then he will go as far as he wants to because he has so much quality.”