The lengthy bios of Rooney’s graph

Wayne Rooney is 22 years old. He plays football and is good at it. He looks like Shrek, the ogre. He’s married. His wife is a fashion icon. He’s rich. He drives a Cadillac Escalade, a BMW X5, a Porsche 911, a Mercedes SLK, a Chrysler 300C, an Audi TT, and a BMW M3. He gets involved in occasional bar-brawls. He solicited prostitutes when he was younger.

There you go. That for you is Wayne Rooney’s biography simplified. What more is there to know?

Surely not so much as to necessitate the publishing of five books over a span of 12 years!

In March 2006, Rooney and HarperCollins signed the largest sports book deal in publishing history, which granted him a £5 million advance plus royalties for a minimum of five books to be brought out over a 12-year period.

So far two books have seen the light of day. The first one, My Story So Far, an autobiography ghost-written by Hunter Davies, was published after the World Cup in 2006. Rooney was 20 then. The second, The Official Wayne Rooney Annual, followed thereafter.

I have total admiration for Wayne, the brilliant footballer. His is the perfect rags-to-riches story, the journey from the streets of Croxteth, a working class suburb of Liverpool, to the dazzling arena that is Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams. But, is it one to warrant a biography at 20?

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who prized him off from Everton at the age of 18, understands that better than anyone else. The Scot recently said that it’s going to take the striker years to be a ‘full article’.

This reaction came after Wayne’s extraordinary performances for England in the World Cup qualifiers last week. Against Kazakhstan and Belarus, Wayne looked the striker that had prompted many fans and critics to call him the White Pele after his Euro debut in 2004. Wayne scored two goals each in both these games and now has five goals in his last three. But Roo’s problem has always been consistency. He plays well in patches and then, like the hedgehog, goes into hibernation.

The hedgehog too only makes a story when it comes out of its burrow.

Sir Alex says it’s to do with maturity. “What we have noticed is that he goes on these scoring bursts and his form improves. That’s the way he’s been ever since he came to us, but you hope that by the time he gets to his mid-20s, the greater experience will bring more consistency to his scoring and it will be better spread,” he says.

However, Rooney says this is the best he has ever played for England. He credits his form to coach Fabio Capello.

So does this new partnership mean another biography?

“This is the best I have ever played for England. At Euro 2004 I did well but I am enjoying my football now. I’m getting on the ball, making and scoring goals. He (Capello) has added something to my game at the international level. Since he took over he has helped me with my finishing. We have worked hard on it and he has given me advice on movement and where the spaces are on the pitch,” said Rooney.
Can he continue this good run till 2010 in South Africa? If he does, then I wouldn’t mind ghost-writing 10 biographies in one year.