For twenty years, the “golden generation” of the England team has continued to haunt the debates. Lampard, Beckham, Scholes, Rooney, Gerrard… A dream cast who nevertheless won nothing. Recently, Steven Gerrard rekindled the wounds by explaining this failure by “selfishness” and the lack of connection between players. But his former teammate Wayne Rooney, also an actor from that era, was quick to respond. And the response was clear, lucid and without animosity.
“What he says is unfair”
Invited to react on his show The Wayne Rooney Show, the ex-captain of the Three Lions was keen to qualify Gerrard's version: “I wouldn’t say that like him. We didn't win anything, it's true, but we worked hard. To say we were egocentric is disrespectful. » Rooney insists: the problem was not the attitude, but the context. “It was a different era, the clubs hated each other on the pitch. It was difficult to be close with the Liverpool or Chelsea players, but on the pitch, everyone was fighting for the same jersey. »
His tone remains calm but firm, reminding us that the word “losers” doesn't do justice to the players' commitment. He also mentions external factors (injuries, expulsions, lack of tactical cohesion) which weighed more than egos.
An epochal rivalry, not a divide
Rooney acknowledges, however, that tensions between clubs, particularly between Manchester United and Liverpool, made certain relationships complicated. “You could sense the rivalry, but never the hatred. I got along with everyone. I saw Beckham, Neville, Scholes a little distant with the Reds, but that didn't change our desire to win together. »
He observes that the new generation, more united and less prisoner of club rivalries, benefits from a more peaceful media and human environment: “ Today, Rashford and Foden are training together before the restart. It's a different mentality, more open. »
Rooney, the voice of balance
Far from the controversy, Rooney finally refocused the debate:
“We really believed we could win. We failed, but not for lack of unity. » A clarification which places the discussion on fairer ground and pays homage to a generation often wrongly criticized.
Remembering that “everyone gave 100% for the jersey”, Rooney elegantly closes an old debate between former teammates. Where Gerrard delivered a bitter observation, the Mancunian preferred to respond with perspective and dignity: that of a captain who remained loyal to his locker room.
