19 Jun 2006(Mon)

Bonn, June 16, 2006 -- England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was speaking for a lot of people when he welcomed the end of the “Wayne Rooney Saga” after his team’s 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

The sports pages of the English newspapers have been dominated by Rooney´s metatarsal since he injured his right foot playing for Manchester United against Chelsea seven weeks ago.

But at Nuremberg on Thursday, Rooney came off the bench and played for 33 minutes – his first appearance at the World Cup.

“It is a great relief the saga is over,” Eriksson said in his post-match press conference.

“It has been talked about every day, and really all of us in the camp are fed up with it…and now it’s over.”

Well, Eriksson thought it was over.

Next question.

“Can you talk us through the last 24 hours?” asked one reporter, wanting the details of the doctors and the examinations. For a moment I thought I was watching “E.R.” or “Chicago Hope” as the medical talk dominated the football.

Next question.

“Will Rooney be fit to start against Sweden?”

Eriksson managed to keep his temper in check, and said he would have to wait for a day or two to check on Rooney´s condition after his runout against T-T.

Question to Peter Crouch.

“How did Rooney´s entrance lift the team?”

Crouch was most definitely fed up, too.

“Not only Wayne, but also Lennon and Downing lifted the team. We needed fresh legs in the attack,” said Crouch.

So, as you can see, the Rooney Saga is not quite over yet, despite Eriksson´s profound hopes.

Rooney´s name gives the headline-writers lots of opportunity to create corny headlines, such as “Wish Roo were here!” (when Rooney did not play against Paraguay), or “We are thROO!”, meaning England are through to the next round with six points from two games, or “Wayne to go!” (instead of the American rallying cry, “way to go”).

Not for a long time can one player have dominated the sports news – and this goes to show how special Rooney is.

But sitting through an England press conference these days is painful, as you know what is coming next. A question about Wayne Rooney.

So here is my own contribution to the Rooney Saga.

“This is all Wayne over the top!”

“Write about the SocceROOS instead!”

“Fergie thinks Sven is a ROOnatic for bringing Wayne back so quickly!”

I apologise readers, and promise this is tROOly the end of the Saga -- or you may start becoming unROOly!

ends