Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owenis a former English footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. He is a regular pundit and co-commentator on BT Sport football coverage, and sometimes appears on BBC's Match of the Day as a pundit. Since retiring from football, he has become a successful racehorse breeder and owner...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionSoccer Player
Date of Birth14 December 1979
CityChester, England
A lot of people have lost interest in watching England play. To get motivated to watch international football, you need your country to be having some form of success and England haven't had any for a long time now.
If you look at football over the last 50 years there has been a gradual decrease in goals, you don't see too many 10-nils these days, but two, three or four goals per game is a good spectacle.
I want to be a top-flight football player, so I lead the life that enables me to be that type of player. I prefer to be seen in a decent light rather than an indecent one.
I've always been a player that likes to get round the back and get crosses in for other people. When I first burst on to the scene some people only saw the goals I was scoring. More recently they've taken notice of the goals I've set up. It is nice to be recognized for that.
[Wayne Rooney ] best tournament was the 2004 European Championships, when he played alongside me and made such a big impact, but it hasn't happened for him at the World Cup for one reason or another.
To stay in the game, you have to stay in the game.
You need people who score goals. That's how you win games
To be at the top, you have to have a competitive streak in you. If you're not performing, you've got to be angry with yourself.
[Wayne Rooney] has to be viewed as a great England striker if he breaks Sir Bobby Charlton's record. Scoring goals at international level is much more difficult than it was a few years back because even the lesser teams are well organised and don't concede too many goals these days.
I don't want to be modelling G-strings. It's not that good for my image – I'm a footballer not a tart
An emotion that lives with me is a sense of what might have been had injuries not robbed me of my most lethal weapon - speed.
I hate to admit this but I don't even know how to make a cup of tea or coffee. I can boil a kettle for a pot noodle and I've been known to warm up some food in the microwave.
I thought I would break the scoring record when I got to 40 goals by the age of 27 or 28, but then Fabio Capello took over and he never picked me again.
There is no doubt that I would have won more honours had I signed for Manchester United as a youngster.