Wayne Rooney - Manchester United

"Wayne Rooney ... remember the name" screamed Clive Tyldseley in 2002, when 16 year old Rooney, a late substitute at Everton's Goodison Park, cut in from the left and blasted a shot from outside the box past David Seaman in the Arsenal goal to win the game for Everton. Tyldesley needn't have bothered. Rooney would make his name known over and over again in spectacular fashion.

The archeypical tyro, Rooney grew up playing football in a Croxteth council estate, in Liverpool and his early talent was spotted by many. Once he had announced himself in the Premier League, it became apparent that he needed to move to a big club. Newcastle made a surprise offer and Manchester United had to move quickly to secure his services.

Wayne Rooney is to football what Sachin Tendulkar is to cricket. Rooney can play in any position on the pitch. He can attack, defend, play wide, play central and loves to be involved. Rooney is arguably the most natural and complete footballer in the world today. Rooney's Manchester United career has been studded with some astonishing goals and performances. His volley against Newcastle was the goal of the year in 2006 and his Champions League debut was marked with a hat-trick. But Rooney is more than a striker - he has a great eye for a pass, good vision, a tremendous work ethic and is capable of very subtle play as well.

Over the past 3 seasons, Rooney had to change his game to play a supporting role in the Cristiano Ronaldo show. Often, especially in away games in the Champions League, he played on the left in a 3 man attack, often falling back to help the defence. A team man to the core, Rooney has never complained about this. He has a preference for the main striking role, though and this season is looking to grow back into that role. Clearly a man who thrives on confidence, he tends to score in spurts, and then goes a few games without a goal.

Rooney has been England's talisman as well and under Fabio Capello, has rediscovered a rich vein of scoring. His 9 goals in England's World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign tell their own story, along with a couple more in friendlies. Rooney's fortunes have been intricately connected with England's as his sending off against Portugal marked the end of England's campaign in the World Cup, 2006. His metatarsal break suffered against the same opponents in Euro 2004 also ended England's run in that tournament. A lionhearted presence on the field, he has been given run of the pitch by Capello and is revelling in the role.

Rooney's undoing in the past is his bad temper - he was sent off in a key Champions League game for sarcastically clapping the referee for being given a yellow card. He has on numerous occasions been sent off for dissent or bad behaviour, rather than footballing fouls. Usually, when the team are not performing well, Rooney tends to get frustrated and loses his cool. This is something most opposition teams know and target. Both Ferguson and Capello have worked with Rooney over the years to control his outbursts and Rooney himself has matured greatly.

Wayne Rooney married his childhood sweetheart Coleen McLoughlin in June 2008 and his son Kai was born in November 2009. Rooney lives in a £24 million mansion and has signed the most lucrative sports book contract in history, with Harper Collins. The 5 book deal comes with a £ 5m advance plus royalties. His younger brother, John, plays for League 2 side Macclesfield Town. Though Manchester United need to rebuild after losing Ronaldo and Tevez, Wayne's World is still looking good.