Wayne Rooney wrote another chapter in his incredible career with a stunning hat-trick on his Manchester United debut on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old England striker, who had not kicked a competitive ball for three months after breaking his foot at Euro 2004, lit up Old Trafford with three superb goals to inspire his new team to a 6-2 rout of Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
United manager Alex Ferguson could not hide his delight at the performance of his new $27 million-pound ($48.9 million) striker.
"Considering it was his debut I thought he was magnificent," Ferguson told reporters. "That's why we signed him and it's a great start for him."
Rooney took only 17 minutes to open his account, running on to a neat pass from his strike partner Ruud van Nistelrooy before clipping a crisp left-foot shot over goalkeeper Rustu Recber.
Eleven minutes later, he created space with one deft touch before blasting a fierce right-foot shot into the far corner of Rustu's net from 20 metres and he completed his first senior hat-trick soon after halftime.
When United were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area Rooney stepped up to curl the ball nonchalantly passed the groping Recber before running to the crowd to celebrate.
Rooney's extraordinary debut was perhaps the most remarkable moment of a career already full of highlights.
He was released on an unsuspecting English Premier League at the age of 16 in October 2002 to smash an unstoppable shot past then England goalkeeper David Seaman and end Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run.
In February 2003 at the age of 17, he became the youngest player to pull on an England shirt, and seven months later he was his country's youngest ever scorer after finding the net in a 2-1 victory in Macedonia.
Rooney came of age on the international stage at Euro 2004 in Portugal, where he scored four goals to help England reach the quarter-finals.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson compared his impact on the tournament with that of a 17-year-old Pele for Brazil at the 1958 World Cup, and when Rooney limped off the pitch early in the quarter-final against Portugal his country's hopes went with him.
Despite his broken foot, Rooney was not short of potential suitors to lure him away from Everton and Manchester United stepped in to bring him to Old Trafford as one of the cornerstones of a new team to challenge the supremacy of champions Arsenal and big-spending Chelsea.
United's worst start to a season for 12 years increased the pressure on Rooney to deliver and his entrance at the Theatre of Dreams could not have been more dramatic.
© 2024 Rediff.com -