Former Manchester United power development coach Mick Clegg has revealed that Wayne Rooney broke down in tears after the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea despite United winning the trophy in Moscow. United secured their third European Cup with a dramatic 6-5 penalty shootout victory after the final ended 1-1 following extra time at the Luzhniki Stadium. Cristiano Ronaldo had given United the lead with a first-half header before Frank Lampard equalised shortly before half-time. With neither side able to find a winner during extra time, manager Sir Alex Ferguson replaced Rooney with Nani in the 111th minute. Rooney was therefore not on the pitch for the penalty shootout, where misses from John Terry and Nicolas Anelka ultimately handed United the title after Edwin van der Sar’s decisive save.
Mick Clegg says Rooney was devastated by his own display
Clegg, who spent 11 years working at Manchester United and still sees former players such as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at his Manchester gym, said Rooney could not hide his frustration after the match because he believed he had let supporters down on the biggest stage. Speaking to SPORTbible, Clegg recalled: “After United beat Chelsea to win the Champions League, I was having a drink afterwards and this guy comes along and grabs hold of me, puts his head on my shoulder and says ‘I played s***’. “I said ‘what?’ and he said again ‘I played s***, I can’t believe it’, and he actually cried. I said ‘why do you think you played badly?’ and he said ‘that’s why I got taken off’. “It was Wayne. In tears. He gave his heart and soul on the pitch, but it hand’t worked out the way he wanted it to and that upset him, because he’s dedicated himself to football and on the biggest stage of all, he felt as though he’d let the fans down.”
Rooney never obsessed over comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo
Rooney and Ronaldo were central figures in Ferguson’s Manchester United side during one of the club’s most successful periods, but the England forward was frequently compared unfavourably with his Portuguese teammate as Ronaldo developed into one of the defining players of his generation. Clegg, however, insisted Rooney never became consumed by those comparisons and was comfortable with his own style of football even while Ronaldo pursued relentless physical conditioning and individual excellence. “Rooney, to me, was just a pure footballer,” Clegg said. “He just wanted to play football. He liked to do some boxing and he loved to thump me in the face when he got the chance, although I didn’t let him do it too much! “It’s absolutely crazy [to say Rooney under-achieved]. He had a fantastic career, so who can criticise him in an way at all? “Wayne recognised that Cristiano was unique, that he was above everyone else. I remember Cristiano was ranked the No.1 player in the world and Wayne was about 17th and I said to him, ‘how are you going to get higher up the list?’ and he said ‘I’m not bothered about that. I play my game, I love the way I play and I’m happy with that’.” Clegg added: “Wayne was just a total footballer. He was naturally fit, a strong, powerful lad, but he didn’t feel he needed to take on board all of this stuff [power and conditioning].”
Rooney’s intense effort to recover before the 2006 World Cup
Clegg also spoke about Rooney’s determination to recover from injury ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, a tournament where England’s much-hyped “Golden Generation” eventually exited in the quarter-finals after losing on penalties to Portugal following Rooney’s red card. The former coach revealed Rooney became fully committed to fitness work after suffering a foot injury in the buildup to the tournament. “But when he had a foot injury just before the 2006 World Cup, I spent three months going out on bike rides with him, working in the gym and boxing with him,” Clegg explained. “At that time, he could beat any player who came into the gym at any exercise, because he couldn’t play. So his whole focus was on getting fit for the World Cup. “Suddenly, he turned his full attention to what he needed to do to make that World Cup. I was so proud of him, he was absolutely brilliant.” Clegg said Rooney even installed a private gym at his house during the recovery process because of how determined he was to return in time for the tournament. “He even had a gym installed in his house, which wasn’t common back then. He asked me to get a company to install a gym at his home, because he wanted to do everything to make that World Cup and he did make it.” England ultimately topped their group at the 2006 World Cup but delivered a series of underwhelming performances before another penalty shootout defeat to Portugal sent them out of a major tournament for the third consecutive time.
‘What a fantastic experience’
Reflecting on his years working with Rooney, Ronaldo and the wider Manchester United squad during that era, Clegg described it as one of the defining experiences of his career. “How lucky was I to be at United at that time, working with those two and all of the other great players there?” he said. “What a fantastic experience.”
