Wayne Rooney's England Career Still Worthy of Celebration Despite Lack of Medals
There will be a time, not too long from now, when Wayne Rooney calls time on his playing career.
It's possible he'll announce his retirement having become England's most capped player and record goalscorer. In fact, needing only 26 more appearances and seven goals, it's more than possible. But even if he achieves both those impressive feats, the success of his England career will still be up for debate.
Barring something of a miracle, he'll never win an international trophy. He's not even reached as much as a semi-final at a European Championship or World Cup. It's not the record his career promised when he was starring at Euro 2004 as a teenager.
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It's in stark contrast to the success Rooney has enjoyed at Manchester United. If he never won another trophy at Old Trafford, he'd still have five Premier League titles, two League Cups, the Champions League and World Club Cup.
He's won the PFA Player of the Year award, scored in a Champions League final and could yet pass Sir Bobby Charlton's United goalscoring record.
But with United, he's always had one thing that he's lacked during his time with England: help.
Rooney has never been able to control the expectation. If England fans thought he'd be the one to guide them to World Cup and European Championship success, that's not his fault.
On Saturday against Slovenia, he'll win his 100th cap while standing on the verge of breaking Charlton's England goalscoring record. It's a mark he'll surely pass, if not during this qualifying campaign then the next. And in terms of personal achievement, he can't do much more.
It's a regular criticism of Rooney's international career since his first tournament in Portugal that his most memorable moments have mostly been negative. For every important goal, there's been a needless red card.
He's scored lots of goals for England, as he has for United. The difference at Old Trafford is that he's often been part of a well-oiled machine. Throughout his 10 years at United, he's always had someone to share the responsibility. First it was Ruud van Nistelrooy, then Cristiano Ronaldo. Now there's Robin van Persie, Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.
The truth is that Rooney has never played in an England team that could match the quality of some of those built by Sir Alex Ferguson. The respective trophy hauls tell their own story. At an international level, you can't do it all on your own. Just ask Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
There's perhaps a slight disappointment that Rooney has not reached the level of the world's best, vying with Ronaldo and Messi for the Ballon d'Or each year. The things he could do as a teenager hinted that he might. But you're talking about an elite group of players that's very difficult to break into.
Rooney will tick off another personal milestone when he collects his 100th England cap on Saturday. He'll knock off another one soon when he passes Charlton's 49 England goals.
Like the fans who had such high hopes, Rooney will be disappointed his international career looks unlikely to yield any medals. But he's done more than most.
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