 |
| David Beckham captained Wayne Rooney and watched him develop into an England legend |
DAVID BECKHAM believes Wayne Rooney's long-term future will be played out as a deeper-lying midfielder.
Manchester United and England captain Rooney has struggled for form this season despite becoming his country's record goalscorer last month.
The striker, who turns 30 in less than three weeks, has scored just one Premier League goal since early April, prompting his club manager Louis van Gaal to suggest he would benefit from being rested for England's final two Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania over the next week.
Former England captain Beckham has no doubt Rooney, an international team-mate for six years, will rediscover his best form. But the retired former United midfielder feels the 29-year-old will need to adjust his game, just as Ryan Giggs did during the latter stages of his career.
Beckham, who will return to Old Trafford on November 14 to captain a Great Britain and Ireland side against a Rest of the World team in a charity match to raise money for Unicef, says Giggs provides a great example in how to carry on playing for as long as possible.
 |
| David Beckham with the Manchester United youth team after wining the FA Youth Cup Final 2nd leg match against Crystal Palace, at Old Trafford, Manchester on 15th May 1992 |
The former Wales winger dropped into midfield and adjusted his game to ensure that he was still playing at the age of 40, and Beckham said: "When you get older, you have to adapt your play.
"Giggsy was a prime example. He got to a certain age and then he dropped into midfield a lot more and played that central role. I think Wayne will do the same.
"He's an out-and-out goalscorer, but he's proved he can step into the midfield and play. If you're comfortable on the ball, as players such as Wayne and Giggsy are, you can do that."
Rooney's penalty in a Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Switzerland last month was his 50th goal for England, taking him past Sir Bobby Charlton as his country's record scorer.
He also hit a hat-trick against Club Brugge in a Champions League play-off in August, but had gone 11 Premier League matches without scoring before he found the net against Sunderland on September 26.
 |
| Beckham dropped into a more central role later in his career, and is hoping Rooney will follow suit |
 |
| David Beckham captained Wayne Rooney and watched him develop into an England legend |
He still retains the respect of the world's greatest players though, with his former United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo declaring during a BBC documentary broadcast on Monday night that he "misses" playing alongside Rooney.
Ronaldo, who has become Real Madrid's all-time La Liga top scorer since leaving Old Trafford for Spain in an £80m deal in 2009, has not ruled out teaming up with the England captain again in the future.
He said: "The power of Wayne Rooney is his mentality and his strength - he never stops. He's a fantastic boy and he helped me a lot when he came to join us in Manchester.
"I miss playing with him. Maybe in the future we will play together again."
Beckham, for his part, has suggested it would be foolish to write off Rooney despite his struggles with form.
He said: "I don't think you can ever write off a player who's scored the number of goals he has for England and Manchester United.
"Being the player he is and has been over the years, you can never write off someone like that. Players like that can always make you eat your words."
Beckham, who left United for Real Madrid in 2003, is eagerly anticipating his return in next month's charity game.
Sir Alex Ferguson will take charge of the Great Britain and Ireland side, while Carlo Ancelotti is to coach the Rest of the World side captained by Zinedine Zidane.
Beckham believes current United boss Van Gaal will regain the levels of success that Ferguson enjoyed as manager at Old Trafford, and has no worries about them enduring the sort of title drought that has befallen Liverpool since they last won the league in 1990.
He said: "I can't see that happening to Manchester United. I never think we'll not be in contention to win trophies. There's too much history."
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus