Wayne Rooney retirement from England duty is the right call… he didn’t want to hang around the camp like a spare part
Everton striker Wayne Rooney ended his international career less than a year before the 2018 World Cup in Russia
YES, he could have given more.
A few more call-ups, a few more caps, a few more goals as he limped towards Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances for his country.
It is not the way Wayne Rooney wants to be remembered.
Instead, he has gone out on his terms and retired from international football with less than a year to go before the World Cup in Russia.
This is a clean, swift, decisive end to Rooney’s 14-year commitment to the national side.
It is also the right call.
The endless will-he won’t-he debates ahead of Gareth Southgate’s squad announcements were taken care of on Wednesday afternoon.
Rooney retired after 119 caps and 53 goals for England. His time is up, bowing out when the temptation to answer the call from his country once again was gathering pace. It is the right call.
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The Rooney renaissance is under way after goals in successive Premier League games for Everton against Stoke and Manchester City.
Southgate wanted him back in the Three Lions squad for World Cup qualifiers in Malta next Friday and against Slovakia at Wembley the following Monday. But there were no guarantees from England’s head coach that he would be a starter.
Rooney did not want to hang around the camp like a spare part.
He wants to be remembered as the main man, a player who could change games with a feint, a body swerve or a belter into the back of the net. That was the Rooney the country relied on whenever they were in a hole.
He will be remembered for some belting goals, with his strike against Brazil at the Maracana in 2013 probably the pick of them.
Wayne Rooney - His England career broken down
- England appearances: 119
- Debut: vs Australia 12 Feb 2013, aged 17 years 111 days
- International goals: 53 – England’s record goal haul
- First goal: vs Macedonia 6 September 2003
- Wins: 71, Draws: 29, Losses: 19
- Major tournaments: Six
- World Cup goals: One - vs Uruguay in 2014
- Red cards: Two – Portugal 2006, Montenegro 2012
- Caps as captain: 22 games
- First captaincy: vs Brazil 14 November 2009
- England managers : Six – Eriksson, McClaren, Capello, Hodgson, Allardyce, Southgate
His long-range effort at the City of Manchester Stadium in 2004 against Iceland is also up there.
It is just a shame that he could not rescue England against Iceland when it really came to the crunch at Euro 2016.
The tournament frustration — when he failed to perform at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, along with the Euros in 2012 and 2016 — will fade as the years roll on.
He was a great servant for his country and close, very close, to being remembered as one of the greats.
Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Geoff Hurst, Bryan Robson, Gary Lineker and Shilton will always remain a fraction ahead of Rooney.
Charlton and Hurst won the World Cup with England in 1966, Captain Marvel’s importance to England in the 1980s is often overlooked and Lineker did it on the biggest stage.
Rooney, regardless of his potential, never quite did that.
He had so much so young and his rampaging performances at Euro 2004 were the highlight of his international career.
Doubles against Switzerland and Croatia raised expectations to Gazza-like proportions.
He certainly could have been an even better player but the sacrifices made by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are not for everyone.
Next summer, when England run out in Moscow, St Petersburg or Sochi for the World Cup, there will probably be a tinge of regret that he is not there.
He had originally planned to walk away after the 2018 World Cup but those plans have been accelerated by a year.
He patched things up with Southgate after he was axed from the squad following a boozy weekend at Hertfordshire’s Grove Hotel while he was on international duty last year.
Southgate, eager to send out a message to the England squad in his first few weeks in charge, has not named him in a squad since.
Rooney has taken care of business now, with his international retirement confirmed after a long and distinguished England career.
After 119 caps, he had every right to leave the country wanting more.