For every footballing hero there’s just as many villains. Those pantomime soccer-bad-boys who rather than cheer at, we jeer at, every time they touch the ball.
The former Liverpool, now Barcelona player, Luis Suarez is universally disliked for his on field activities and would probably be described by most fans as a ‘cheat’, and nobody likes a ‘cheat’ in sport. Any kind of bad sportsmanship in the heat of battle, never fails to bring out the worst in the fans.
The beautiful game has never been short of players, who (for what ever reason), we just don’t like. Every club has it’s villains, but it takes a special kind of badness, or madness, to gain universal displeasure.
Suarez’s actions could be blamed on his Latin temperament, but the fans reaction, Latin or not, is typical. It generates the same passionate response as the love/hate relationship they have with our own Wayne Rooney.
Rooney became ‘Public enemy number one’ for Everton fans, after they claimed he betrayed the club he always supported, and joined one of their bitter rivals Manchester United.
Fans believed he’d pledged his loyalty to the blue half of Merseyside. A footballing prodigy gifted and talented. Identified at a very young age as being a ‘special player’ with a huge future. Photographs of him in his now infamous ‘Once A Blue’ T-shirt hung pride of place in many a blue household, as was the optimism he instilled in the Everton fans. His subsequent transfer turned him into a hate figure overnight in his home town.
His move to Manchester was no bed of roses. He took a long time to win over his new clubs supporters, despite his obvious talents. A deep rooted dislike of ‘scousers’ only drew a begrudged appreciation of his skills.
Rooney has spent all of his footballing life in the spotlight. A precocious young talent, his strength and skills became apparent early on. He made his debut in 2002 for the team he has supported since childhood. He claimed that joining Everton football club was all he ever wanted. The fans rejoiced at having a home-grown superstar amongst their ranks. When he left the club in 2004 it was like a dagger to the heart, it made no difference that his leaving was to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Still only eighteen, the reported twenty million pounds transfer fee was a welcome windfall for a debt ridden club, but did little to appease the angry Everton fans who believed Rooney’s departure was driven by greed and was a slap in the face for those who believed he could have been the catalyst the club needed to take it back into the big time.
Rooney quickly repaid his huge fee to his new paymasters by helping them gain further honours including the Premiership title, and a Champions League final.
Rooney also established himself as a regular in the England team, and achieved the most prestigious of prizes, being both Manchester United and England captain. He also continues to re-write the record books, becoming Manchester United’s leading goal scorer of all time and is now only a few goals short of achieving the same distinction for his country.
Not a bad achievement for the lad from ‘Crocy’ and yet those achievements carry little weight with the fans. He is still the subject of the most extreme abuse, both on and off the pitch.
The question is: Why does one footballer generate so much hostility? Could it be many see him as a footballing child prodigy that showed so much potential, so much passion, yet wasted his opportunities? A catalogue of indiscretions have infuriated the fans. From Holding his boss at Manchester United, the formidable Sir Alex Ferguson, to ransom for a pay rise and getting it, and being acclaimed as the champion who would deliver Everton out of the shadow of their more successful rivals Liverpool to then walk away. He is pilloried for letting down his country with to many poor performances for England, and then exposed by the tabloids after his reported affair with a prostitute.
For all these sins some fans can forgive but the majority cannot forget. Such has the press hammered on his failings; he’s long lost any quest for redemption. The most he can now muster from fans is a grudging respect for effort and for some outstanding goals.
As a footballer, he is an enigma. He would be on every managers wish list. His skills, his strength, his commitment. They all want a Rooney in their team. Unfortunately the fans don’t.
Maybe Rooney was a star who peaked to soon. Maybe it’s his surly arrogance the fans don’t like. Or perhaps it’s just because he isn’t in your team. Fans will forgive you anything if you play for them. Look at the devotion Liverpool fans heaped on Luis Suarez.
Sadly, today’s modern footballer is expected to talk as good a game as he’s expected to play it. Personality and good PR are key to a players perception. Maybe that’s where it went wrong for Wayne.
Who knows, If he’d done a little less’ kissing and dissing’ the badge, and a little more kissing the babies, ‘Wayne’s World’ might be a totally different one.
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