Reading:‘Someone had told me, “Remember the name: Wayne Rooney” and it was staring me in the face on his shirt as he celebrated – so I sort of nicked it’: Clive Tyldesley recalls iconic commentary for England star’s first Premier League goal
‘Someone had told me, “Remember the name: Wayne Rooney” and it was staring me in the face on his shirt as he celebrated – so I sort of nicked it’: Clive Tyldesley recalls iconic commentary for England star’s first Premier League goal
Wayne Rooney announced himself to the footballing fraternity as a 16-year-old in October 2002, ending Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run with a sublime finish from outside of the box.
With Sol Campbell putting pressure on him and David Seaman the goalkeeper to beat, Rooney would have been forgiven for failing to find the target, let alone the back of the net when he struck in the 89th-minute of the game. But, even then, Rooney didn’t do things by half-measures.
Clive Tyldesley was in the gantry that day, commentating on the birth of England’s next superstar. As the Everton youngster wheeled off to celebrate, Tyldesley exclaimed: “Remember the name: Wayne Rooney” – everyone duly did.
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But when When FourFourTwo asks what the most iconic line from his career is, Tyldesley claims, “That’s up to other people; I don’t know”. With some help, though, he describes how that commentary line came about on October 19, 2002.
“A guy at a testimonial dinner said that phrase to me previously about Wayne and I sort of nicked it, because the name on the back of his shirt was staring me in the face as he ran away to celebrate,” Tyldesley exclusively tells FFT.
While everyone remembered the name, it took Rooney another 18 months or so to truly settle into Premier League football – understandable for someone who was still a young teenager. In his first season, 2002/03, he managed six goals in 33 league appearances, with that rising to nine strikes the campaign after.
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Tyldesley’s “remember the name” line is synonymous with Rooney’s breakthrough (Image credit: Getty Images)
Euro 2004 is where Rooney truly proved himself, scoring four goals in four matches to earn a spot in UEFA’s Team of the Tournament. Still only 18, Manchester United signed him for £27m that summer.
At that stage, people no longer had to remember Wayne Rooney’s name.
Rooney then moved to Manchester United nearly two years later (Image credit: Getty Images)
