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389 lines
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Executable File
sport
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football
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competitions
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champions-league
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8541129
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-----
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# Wayne Rooney must show the world his talent in the Champions League final
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## There have been a number of occasions when the scene looked set for Wayne
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Rooney to shine in front of a global audience, to take centre stage and
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announce himself as one of the world's very best players by producing the kind
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of football we know that he can.
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![Wayne Rooney must show the world his talent in the Champions League final,
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says Alan Smith][1]
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The time is now: a big-game performance from Wayne Rooney is overdue Photo: PA
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[![Alan Smith][2]][3]
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By [Alan Smith][4] 11:00PM BST 27 May 2011
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[Alan's Twitter][5]
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Nearly a year ago now, I wrote that the South Africa World Cup represented his
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time. At 24, England's big hope was never going to have a better chance to
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grab this particular tournament by the scruff of the neck, to come out the
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other side with his name rightfully bracketed alongside the likes of Lionel
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Messi.
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It did not quite happen, did it? For whatever reason, Rooney was an angry man
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last summer, so poor at times you would have sworn his less talented twin
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brother had sneaked on to the pitch.
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Four years previously, in Germany, it was a slightly different story, Rooney's
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broken metatarsal meaning he joined the squad late and, as it turned out, less
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than fully fit, which became only too clear when Sven-Goran Eriksson decided
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to play the lad up front on his own.
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Club football, in fairness, has not proved much kinder. Rooney did nothing
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more than OK against Chelsea in the 2008 [**Champions League**][6] final
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before being substituted ahead of the penalty shoot-out. But it got worse a
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year later when, stuck out on the left, the frustrated striker failed to worry
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Barcelona.
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You can bet your life, though, that Rooney will not be played out of position
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at Wembley tonight. Not when Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping his in-form talisman
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can inflict some vital damage to Pep Guardiola's side.
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## Related Articles
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* [Van der Sar's gloves 'impossible' to fill][7]
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27 May 2011
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* [United v Barca: the best six encounters][8]
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27 May 2011
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* [The key tactical areas at Wembley][9]
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27 May 2011
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* [United's heartbeat][10]
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28 May 2011
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* [Time for Rooney to bestride world stage][11]
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27 May 2011
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* [Chicharito v Solskjaer][12]
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27 May 2011
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And that's the main point: Rooney is on form. At peak fitness, too. Difficult
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to deny that, having seen his contributions over the last three months when he
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has given [**Manchester United **][13]an invaluable boost at the most crucial
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of times in their chase for silverware.
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Would United have won the Premier League title, for instance, had their
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inspired No 10 not dragged his team back from two goals down at West Ham with
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a brilliant hat-trick?
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What is more, would he and his team-mates be in London now if Rooney had not
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snatched a superbly taken away goal at Chelsea in the Champions League
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quarter-final?
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It is all conjecture of course. None of us knows for sure. But what we can say
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for certain is that Rooney has returned to something like his best. After
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upsetting everyone in October by stupidly demanding a move, he knuckled down
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to work hard on his fitness and attitude.
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And once back to 100 per cent, it was always going to be a matter of time
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before this extraordinarily talented player started hitting the heights once
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more to win over his manager, his team-mates and the Old Trafford crowd.
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So now it comes to this: 90 minutes or more against the world's greatest side
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in which to prove he belongs in such exalted company. We have been talking for
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years about Rooney's potential. From David Moyes to Ferguson, from Eriksson to
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Fabio Capello, all of his managers believe the kid is quite special.
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How special though? The bar will be set incredibly high this evening when Xavi
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and Andres Iniesta will vie with wee Lionel to see who can end up as man of
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the match. That is some competition for United's main star, especially if
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Barca dominate possession in their usual way.
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Yet if United play well, and Rooney starts linking profitably with Javier
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Hernandez, there is no reason why an Englishman cannot grab the headlines. Now
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that would be nice because, for Rooney, it is long overdue.
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For those with a good memory, think of the raw teenager taking Euro 2004 by
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storm, banging in the goals with a big grin on his face.
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In reality, that was the last time Rooney truly excelled on the grand stage.
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It is time for a repeat. Wembley awaits.
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[X][14] Share & bookmark
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League-final.html
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Telegraph
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## [Champions League][6]
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* ### [Sport »][19]
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* ### [Alan Smith »][3]
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* ### [Football »][20]
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* ### [European »][21]
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* ### [Manchester United »][13]
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In sport
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[![Pep Guardiola - Champions League final: Johan Cruyff believes Barcelona
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coach could walk away][22] ][23]
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### [Guardiola exit talk unsettles Barca][23]
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[![Champions League final: Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar's
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giant gloves 'impossible' to fill][24] ][7]
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### [Van der Sar's gloves 'impossible' to fill][7]
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[![Rio Ferdinand - Champions League final: Henrik Larsson on the Manchester
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United line-up for Wembley][25] ][26]
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### [Henrik Larsson on United][26]
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[![Champions League final: Barcelona's Lionel Messi - behind the mask of the
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world's best player][27] ][28]
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### [Messi: behind the mask][28]
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[![Follow Telegraph Sport on Twitter][29]][30]
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### [Follow Telegraph Sport on Twitter][30]
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[X][14] Share & bookmark
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Share:
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* [Tweet][18]
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* Advertisement
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[2]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01782/AlanSmith_60_1782349j.jpg
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[13]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/
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