ROONEY IN HIS OWN WORDS

‘Wayne, that foot injury, did you know as soon as it happened that you were done for, out of the tournament?' 'Yeah. As soon as I stood up I knew straight away that I'd done something bad. I knew I had to go off, and it was only later on, when I went for the X-ray that it was confirmed I had a broken foot...' How did that feel? 'It was devastating. It was horrible.

'You just want to keep yourself fit. To see any player get injured and miss the World Cup... that would be horrible. Horrible.' That was Wayne Rooney, at last week's launch of his new Nike football boot, talking about his injury at Euro 2004, when he hobbled off the pitch with a broken foot. Just after 2pm yesterday, Rooney crashed to the ground in agony after injuring the same foot in a challenge by Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira and, as the medics rushed on to the Stamford Bridge pitch, those same words must have been running through his mind. 'Horrible... devastating.'

Has the media treatment bothered him? 'Not really. I expect it now. Sometimes it is difficult, but you've got to do it [media work]. A lot has happened fast. You just get on with it, try to do your best on the field and off it. 'A lot of players do the same as me and it doesn't get noticed, but as soon as I do it it's all over the TV, even on the news,' he says, laughing. 'I find it quite funny at times. That's life.'

Rooney he has been booked eight times since the red card he was shown against Villarreal last September but his demeanour has changed and you are more likely to see him laughing with officials and helping opposition players up from the ground.

Has this been a conscious approach? 'I've never worked on nothing like that, it's just when you get older. Early on in my career I had a lot of bad press about my temperament, but I was only a young lad then. I'm still young, but I've been playing professionally for four years now and I'm learning with every game.' One thing he has learnt is to fear no one. Asked if he will be in awe of anyone in Germany, he gives a disbelieving stare. 'No. I don't think I look up to any players. Obviously you respect everyone.' And four years ago? 'Ronaldo. He scored a lot of goals and was great player then. You could see he enjoyed it.'

Which players does he recommend watching? 'The obvious ones, like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. And I'm actually looking forward to watching young [Lionel] Messi from Argentina. I've seen him a couple of times and he's impressed me. He's confident with the ball and makes things happen. He's a real talent, small but strong and well balanced. He creates a lot of chances for the team. 'Argentina are a good side. We played them in November and it was difficult. Though we beat them, a draw would've been fair.'

And what of other sports?

‘I just love playing football and if I wasn't a professional player and I did a different job I would be playing Sunday league or at some kind of level. I was seven or eight when I played my first match. It was for the Western Approaches [a pub side]. I scored two and then carried on.

'Since I've gone [to United in August 2004 for £27m], Sir Alex Ferguson has instilled the winning mentality into me. He does it with every player. He loves to win and if you're not like that then you shouldn't be playing at a club like Man United. And my awareness of other players and fitness has improved. I used to find it really difficult to last 90 minutes. I've also learnt a lot from Ruud van Nistelrooy. He's a great player. Not many people realise how good his movement inside the box is.

We've worked a lot in training on tactics and link-up play.' What of his relationship with Ferguson? 'Obviously you're not going to be doing things with your manager as you would with other people, but he is always there watching over training and making sure everything's right. If you have a bad or a good game he'll tell you. But he does like to laugh and joke with the players.'

He also has a word for Shearer. 'You saw the goals he scored for Newcastle. He was probably the best in the league over a 10-year period.'

Dennis Bergkamp is another he admires. 'He's a brilliant player who brings others into the game. Look at some of the goals he's scored.'