A young man of 20 sits on the bench.
He boxed for five years as a kid, did weights, has a big chest and broad shoulders.
He has short hair and fair skin with freckles on his forehead. Irish colouring, Irish skintone. He’s third generation County Down, out of Croxteth, Liverpool.
He wears a primrose training bib over his white shirt and he jogs gently down the green astroturf with fellow sub Aaron Lennon skipping behind.
His navy blue shorts are almost down to his knees and his shinguards are in place under his white socks and he wears blue Nike boots with a big swoosh. He can hear his fans chanting , “Roo-ney! Roo-ney! Roo-ney!”
We are 25 minutes into the Trinidad & Tobago game and it’s 0-0 and he looks cool.He looks young, strong and cool.He looks compact and self-contained. He seems to radiate authority.
Above all, he looks ready. Mentally, he is there. He can come on at any time and do special things. We all feel he can come on at any time and do special things.
A working class hero, Wayne Rooney unites the tabloid nation with the chattering classes.Whether you are a van driver or a barrister, a head teacher or a dinner lady, a banker or a plumber, you know that our chances in this World Cup depend on Rooney playing and playing well.
So that is the story on this Tuesday morning.
Wayne Rooney kicks off England’s World Cup against Sweden in Cologne at 8 p.m. tonight.
Apparently, Sven has taken my advice, picked Hargreaves as a holding player, and put Crouch back on the bench. His misconceived five-wheeled vehicle now has four wheels, and might motor along nicely.
However, Sweden play English football better than we do, so it will be interesting, especially if Zlatan Ibrahimovic plays. The big man was back in training yesterday after a groin injury.
Larsson and Ibrahimovic have the skills to bring their midfielders into the game, as we saw when they beat Paraguay with a Ljungberg header in 89 minutes.
The Swedes have better movement than England and better shape, and they defend deep, giving you acres of space in midfield, which will help Lampard and Rooney.
As you know, we have not beaten Sweden in eleven games.
WE DON’T KNOW how much Rooney can do tonight, or how long he can play for. All we know is that England are rubbish without him.
In 1998, Rooney used to watch England’s World Cup games round at his nan’s house, and then go out in the street and play football and pretend he was the England players. When he became a pro in the Everton first team, manager David Moyes said he didn’t mind Wayne still playing football in the streets with his teenage mates.
When he became England’s youngest-ever footballer at seventeen, he had no doubts, and that’s great because too many players are prey to saucy doubts and fears.
Asked in March 2005 whether he had any doubts, Rooney said, “Never. I am a footballer who is confident in myself and my ability on the pitch. From the first moment the manager picked me for England I have always thought that I am worthy of playing on this stage.”
Tonight he starts his first match in the World Cup Finals.
It’s been a long wait for us. And him.
But Wayne Rooney is cool. He knows what he can do. He was born for this.