The acceptance speech of his biggest personal accolade to date was an unusual place for a 24-year-old Wayne Rooney to reveal a change in career.
Yet upon receiving the Football Writers’ Association’s Player of the Year award in 2010, the Manchester United forward chose to announce his ambition to become a manager when he retired. The natty black suit ‘Wazza’ was wearing that night must have channelled his inner boss.
The England talisman was at the peak of his powers, bagging more than 81 per cent of the journalists’ vote after a season in which he’d plundered 34 goals in all competitions. If that wasn’t enough, Rooney explained that he’d also started his coaching badges during the campaign. “I can’t see myself running a restaurant,” he quipped. “One day, I’d like to become a manager.”
Aspiration eventually became reality when, in November 2020, Rooney took charge of crisis-hit Derby County having initially joined as a player. Following 18 months at the helm of MLS club DC United from July 2022, Rooney returned to Football League dugouts in October to replace popular Birmingham City manager John Eustace, much to the chagrin of the St Andrew’s faithful.
Some of that West Midlands angst came from uncertainty that still swirls around the Liverpudlian’s managerial credentials. His status as one of the country’s finest players is set in stone, but the jury remains out on whether his tactical acumen is similarly elite.
REASONS FOR PRIDE
Just over a decade after that Football Writers’ Association speech, Rooney faced a notably smaller
