PRODIGY ROONEY GROWING UP
In the fast-track world of Wayne Rooney, the Player to Watch tag could be considered a good three years too late. All eyes have been on the young Manchester United and England striker ever since 17 August 2002 when he made his debut for his boyhood club, Everton. Indeed his first senior goal of any description, in an Everton pre-season friendly against Austrian minnows SC Bruck earlier that summer, prompted an excited stadium announcer to declare: "The third Everton goal is scored by Wayne Rooney, who many believe will be England's next Alan Shearer!" But where Shearer was 21 when he made his England debut, Rooney – who today celebrates his 20th birthday – has already become his country's key player. His first goal in the English Premiership, a spectacular last-minute strike that ended then champions Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run in October 2002, signalled that with Rooney anything is possible. Just as defenders bounce off his stocky boxer's frame, so Rooney