The soccer press has been buzzing about the latest Wayne Rooney press conferences, statements, and rumors. The usual suspects have been named as possible destinations: the ATMs that are Manchester City and Real Madrid, EPL rival Chelsea, and Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich. But where Wayne Rooney really belongs is in Italy, and specifically Inter Milan.
Here is why Rooney in the Black and Blue makes the most sense:
- He moves to a team that is already successful and won’t need him to be their savior: Don’t get me wrong, Inter Milan needs the talents of a player like Wayne Rooney. Although they are well positioned to repeat as Serie A champions again, their campaign so far has been lackluster. Their nine goals are the fewest scored by any of the top six and its been their defense that has won attention. An on-form Wayne Rooney immediately boosts their offense. But Inter Milan does not absolutely need him; if they did not sign him Eto’o, Milito, and Sneijder are still world-class up front. His addition would add a key component without the pressure of being “The Man” for Inter.
- Rooney counters the Milan signings: The media attention in Serie A has been on Inter’s intercity rival. Their Ibrahimovic signing so far has been worth every euro, and they have become the popular pick to snatch the title away from Inter (sorry Lazio fans). While press clippings don’t win scudettos, signing Wayne Rooney reminds everyone which club is the defending champions of Italy and Europe and pushes Milan to the second page. This is a definite benefit to management.
- He provides needed youth up-front: It’s hard to remember, but Wayne Rooney is just 24 years old. Milito is 31 and Eto’o is 29. Rooney becomes the young striker that Balotelli had been for the Nerazzurri.
- Rafa Knows Rooney: Having managed against him in the EPL, he is well aware of his skills so the learning curve on how to use Wayne Rooney in his system will be short. Plus, he has dealt with the press in multiple countries and can help with that aspect.
- Serie A is a clean start away from the English press: Athletes in crisis management are well served stepping out of the spotlight for a time to re-craft their image. While Rooney playing with Inter would still cause a media circus, he would be covered daily by the Italian press and not the English press. While the Italian press can be critical (to put it lightly), he is out of the country where he is seen as THE face of football. At the same time he would still be playing top-flight football and could showcase his skills on the international stage. And I suspect Fabio Capello still has a few friends in Italy who can keep an eye on Rooney for English national purposes.
What do you think of Wayne Rooney with the Nerazzurri?
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8 comments… read them below or add one
I love the idea. Although as a Juve fan I’m not terribly fond of Inter bolstering their squad any more, it makes total sense. Rooney has been in a downward spiral since he was injured in the latter stages of last season and it hasn’t been getting any better. Man U has talented players up front and with a young Javi Hernandez who is incredibly talented, Rooney becomes expendable. He would be best served to get out of England and start fresh. Inter seems like a great fit for him to get his career back on track.
Although I think it would be wonderful for Rooney to come to the Serie A, I think it’d be impossible for that to happen. Apparently Manchester City have been planning a monster bid which would shatter the current record which was set by Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid. I think it will be something around the 100 million pounds region.
But it would be amazing to see Rooney in the Serie A, I can’t doubt that.
. . . rooney! . . . Inter! . . . ? . . . REALLY!?
Come on seriously! I honestly think he’s lost it, Rooney that is. I think he’s never gonna be as good as he was in his Man U glory days. Best anyone can hope for now is that he’ll be a “decent” stricker, let Man City pay 100mil for him, that club has more money than sence anyway! Inter can find far better for far less. Rooney is good, but not that good anymore.
I dont think he’ll make much difference at a club like Inter, City, Buyern or Barca. He needs to sign for Spurs, Valencia, or Napoli type club where he’ll be made a regular, he’s not the type to be used as rotation or impact player ( which with all the talent the big clubs have, thats what will happen!) he just rots on the bench.
With the way he’s playing now, he’ll never be made a regular at those top table clubs, their strickers are all in better form than he’s. He’ll be benched, never improve from lack of play and team involvement on which he thrives . . . and will rot!
Rooney at Napoli - that would be a sight!
Rooney would be sent-off in Serie A on a regular basis. He cannot handle the pressure of the Italian game and its too tactical for him. We’ve seen what he can do whenever faced with strong opposition as is the case in the World Cup with England. He’s failed to shine in any of England’s big matches.
I can see Italian defenders getting him frustrated easily and he will just lose it and get sent off.
Whether Rooney belongs at Inter or in Italy, would or would not fit in, or deal with the more sophisticated defenses, the bottom line is that Rooney wouldn’t settle any more than Gazza did.
Let’s face it, he won’t be learning a foreign language any time soon, the English media would buy the house across the street from him & wait for him to screw up (or a prostitute) and his wife (if she doesn’t leave him) does not want to move away from her family.
Or to put it another way, Rooney’s too dumb to move abroad, his agent is too greedy to not steer him to Man City, and the Glazers are desperate for the debt-servicing fee they’ll receive for him.
It is fun to see Ferguson watch his empire crumble around him. He deserves nothing less for butt-kissing the Glazers, which is the ultimate insult to ManU supporters.
I agree with the above that it appears that he is on his way to Man City and it has probably already been agreed by Rooney and people at the club, but I would love to see him in Spain or Italy, it would make him such a better player and give him a different view point on the game. If he was at Inter, Barca or Real he’d be big but not the one they rely on and that could really help him as there isn’t as much pressure. As he progresses he could become this figure again, but he will of course be a much better player.
One more point in favour of Inter is that Fergie would prefer Rooney to go to Inter instead of league rivals (Chelsea, ManCity) or the “mob” (Real Madrid)