Wayne Rooney pinpoints what led to Manchester United’s 2008 Champions League triumph

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Manchester United’s club channel MUTV recently sat down with all-time goalscorer Wayne Rooney to discuss the club’s rise to European champions in 2008.

Reflecting on that era, Rooney claimed, “yeah, I thought we were a really good team. We were very unlucky to be in a period where Barcelona arguably had the best team ever to play the game. They were incredible, so obviously we lost two finals to them.”

He continued, “but I think we went on a massive unbeaten run in the Champions League, so we were a little bit unfortunate. It was a joy to play in and to be a part of, and obviously to go and win the Champions League was a proud moment for us all.”

Missed chances

Perhaps highlighting the strength of mentality of the United team in that era, Rooney reflected on the missed chances to win trophies rather than the ones they won.

He pointed to the FA Cup quarter-final loss in 2008, when Thomas Kuszczak was sent off and Rio Ferdinand had to go in goal.

Rooney explained, “that was frustrating. I think if we had beaten Portsmouth and then gone on to win the semi-final, we would have had to win the treble. That sticks with us, and it was a hard moment. You do look back and think, “What might have been if you win those games?” I think you always look back at the games you lost and probably don’t look back at the ones you won, even the big games you won.”

Building towards Champions League winning side

Rooney claimed that signing Cristiano Ronaldo, himself, and Ruud van Nistelrooy was the start of building a highly competitive team to win in Europe.

Winning the FA Cup in 2004 and the League Cup in 2006 was also credited as focusing the team, but the major tipping point was that league title in 2007 when they pipped Chelsea to the trophy.

Rooney also admitted that, whilst he and Cristiano Ronaldo got most of the headlines, there was so much more to that particular United side.

He stated, “there was much more to the team than just the two of us. Obviously, Cristiano had that ability to win games on his own. But I think the main thing for us as a team was that we were tough to play against. We worked hard, we ran, we tackled, and then obviously Cristiano, myself and the other players had the ability to score goals and win games.”

Rooney was also quick to point out the leadership roles of players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville to support the young talent in the group.

The striker also praised the 2007 summer window when the Red Devils brought in Nani, Anderson, Carlos Tevez, and Owen Hargreaves. Rooney explained, “they were really good signings, and obviously we went on to win the Premier League and the Champions League. We had ability all over the pitch. If a player wasn’t playing so well, you could change it and get just as good a player coming in.”

Interestingly, Rooney chose the two semi-final victories over FC Barcelona in 2008 as the best games to reflect that era, as he praised the discipline and teamwork to stop that great side from scoring in two matches.