Wayne Rooney: My Decade in the Premier League (31 page)

Chatting to Thierry Henry after my first League goal for Everton in the 2-1 win over Arsenal in October 2002.

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Playing against the old enemy for the first time. I battered my hip in the match but there was no way I was limping off the field in a Merseyside derby at Anfield.

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With my hero, Duncan Ferguson. I loved him as a kid because he was a battler. He always put a shift in.

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My first ever red card against Birmingham City in 2002. I felt sick afterwards.

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Joining Manchester United in 2004, alongside The Manager and Joe Ruane, a fan who made a sign telling the club to buy me.

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Focus. Staring at the stands before my debut against Fenerbahce in the Champions League in 2004 and thinking:
Bloody hell, this is Old Trafford
.

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Celebrating my hat-trick against Fenerbahce. I had bucketloads of confidence in that game, it was mad.

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Getting sent off in the Champions League against Villareal in 2005. It was my own fault really. I sarcastically applauded the ref when he booked me. Another lesson learnt.

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Messing about with The Manager at the Stade de France, November 2005.

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Captaining United against Roma in December 2007. An honour.

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Meeting the fans on a United tour of Asia. It’s mad when we go there – the crowds are all over us. Every time we go out camera phones point at us from every angle.

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Training with Scholesy, Giggsy and Gary Nev. Those lads have been the heartbeat of United for a generation.

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Winning the Champions League in 2008.

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