Who's Number One? (Part 2: Wayne Rooney)

Now the second part of my 3-part series on the best players on Earth right now. Last time was Messi, this time I'll talk about the reason England have a decent chance in World Cup 2010...

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United & England)
Date of Birth: 24 October 1985 (age 24)
Place of Birth: Croxteth, England
Position: Striker

Ever since he scored the winner for Everton against Arsenal in 2002, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney has been tipped for big things. What followed was a £25.6 million transfer to Manchester United, then 6 amazing seasons at Old Trafford, and Wayne Rooney is widely accepted as one of the most dangerous players in the world.

Similar to Messi, Rooney is in one of the best places in the world to play football being at Manchester United. This season he leads the offensive line, finding great success linking up with Antonio Valencia and Nani on the wings. In his time at Man Utd he has had some fantastic players to play alongside, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Ruud van Nistelrooy but to name a few. Despite competing with some big egos and a lot of quality, Rooney has always been the first name on the teamsheet, and shows his quality in every game.

The reason why Rooney always seems to play well is that without a doubt he is the most determined player in the world. No matter how United are playing, no matter how tired he may be, Rooney will put 120% into every tackle, sprint the full length of the field at top speed, and put the ball into the goal with amazing power.

There isn't much point going through all of Rooney's best attributes, because he is the closest to a "complete footballer" I have ever seen. He has amazing stamina and determination, he is unbelievably fast, he has great balance and strength, his shooting skills are amazing, and his positioning and heading is now up among the best. He is even a pretty good tackler.

Rooney has all of these skills at 24 years old, when he has his best games he is capable of single-handedly defeating teams, he is the reason that England have a real chance at the World Cup this summer. I mentioned his age there, most forwards will reach their peak between 27 and 31, so that would suggest Rooney still has some time to develop (yes I know, he might get even better), and with his mentality and determination he really could improve even more.

On my Leo Messi post, I posted a really long video with all of his best skills and moments of genius, but for Rooney, I think this video is more appropriate. It is a compilation of all of his goals in this seasons Champions League. There is only five goals there, and we all know he has scored better quality goals, but these show some of his best striking attributes, and his value to the Manchester United team.



That's everything for Rooney just now. Tomorrow he plays in the Manchester derby against Man City, a hugely important game for Man Utd's title hopes, and at WilliamHill.com, Rooney is even money to score at any time in tomorrow's game.

The next and final post in this three part series will talk about one of Wayne Rooney's former team-mates, another candidate for number one in the world.