Much has been said of Cristiano Ronaldo's performances this season.
Top scorer in the Premiership and 42 goals in all competitions, with the last of them coming in the Champions League Final. He won the European Golden Boot, The Premiership and The Champions League. If you take his contribution to Manchester United this year away, the club would have gone without a trophy this season.
Ronaldo has achieved the most column inches and had the most air-time of any United player this season. Since the season ended, he has eclipsed everyone in those stakes!
However I argue that United's key player this season hasn't been Cristiano Ronaldo at all.
It has been Wayne Rooney.
Some have said he has had a bad season this year, but I think that has more to do with his lack of goals than his actual performances. I admit that 18 goals in a season is a poor return, but hardly a disastrous one, for a player of his quality.
And he has quality. Sir Alex himself rates him as, "the best young player I have seen in my time," while Maradona said, "I think that Rooney is better than Kaka," after Kaka picked up the Ballon d'Or last year. High praise indeed.
However, one could tell that Rooney would endear himself to 'el Marado'. He is a raw player who acts and reacts on instinct alone. While he 'thinks' about the game, he is far from being a 'thoughtful' footballer. Sometimes rash, he has the same streak which is prominent in so many of the true genius' of football. Maradona himself had it, as did George Best and Eric Cantona, his ancestors at Old Trafford.
If you took it away, he wouldn't be the same player, but Rooney has improved himself as a person, with a great deal of help from Coleen in my opinion, and no longer gives fans the feeling that he is constantly on the edge, about to snap.
This work got it's reward when he captained the side against Roma, a responsibility Ferguson would not bestow lightly. Rooney to be the next great United captain? I'll not add to that debate as many who read this may think that captaincy issues are far from being my forte!
Despite this, he seemed frustrated at the end of the season, with injuries clearly restraining him. In the future he will want to win another Champions League title with his own performance in the final being the difference, as his performance this year was far from what he is capable of producing.
The key to Rooney's contribution this season can be seen most clearly when one is confronted with his loss-less scoring campaign. The only game United lost when Rooney had scored was at Stamford Bridge. Rooney had scored the equaliser, while injured, but his teammates could not finish off the job after he left the field.
Again, I must reiterate that Rooney has to improve his goal tally next year. However, he is at his best when 'playing in the hole' behind the main striker so his partnerships with both Ronaldo and Tevez are just as important as his goals.
His partnerships with both this season have been excellent. Ronaldo in particular has a lot to thank Rooney for over the past year.
So, though Ronaldo has had an exceptional season ,this side of the East Lancs anyway, it's Rooney who has really caught the eye.
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4 months ago
All the best players in world history can say Rooney is better than Pele if they like. It won't make me change what I can see with my own eyes.
Rooney is a player capable of brilliance, but who in my opinion will always have more average games than awesome ones. He is still young, so he could improve further and arrest his indiscipline and inconsistency, but I don't think he will.
I am afraid I cannot agree that Rooney has been United's key player this season. If you had said Rio Ferdinand, then I could have made a case, as he had his best season in club football by a long way, but in an attacking sense, United were all about Ronaldo this season, and that is why all the Manchester United fans are so vitriolic about his apparent desire to join Real. They are worried about the future without him, and after 42 goals in 48 games, who can blame them.
4 months ago
rooney is a very talented footballer, but in regards to last season, i think he cant be united's key player. you talk about united not losing a game in which rooney has scored, but hav u considerd the fact that he has mostly been scoring the second, third or fourth goals in a game.
for last season ronaldo aside, even tevez has been more important to utd than rooney, just look at the match winning goals he scored. yet rooney was given the responsibility to lead the line. rooney missed countless chances not to mention keeper to beat, always trying to chip over the goal keeper.
by the way i believe if rooney had converted half the chances he got, he would hav out scored ronaldo.
to me he had a very average season, and it would be very disrespectful to ronaldo,tevez,vidic and ferdinand to say rooney was utd's key man
4 months ago
Have to agree with Simon. Rooney will have more average games than awesome ones and it will probably stay that way for some time to come.
There is no doubting Rooney's talent but United's success this season is down to three people and ONE in particular. Ferdinand, Vidic and RONALDO. Its simple as that really...
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