The Intensity of the Merseyside Derby: Wayne Rooney's Insights
The Merseyside derby is set to take place on Saturday, a fixture steeped in deep-rooted rivalry that often divides families, as evidenced by the experiences of lifelong Everton fan Wayne Rooney.
Rooney, who hails from a family of Everton supporters, played in the derby during two separate spells with the Toffees and faced Liverpool numerous times while at Manchester United, notably scoring a decisive goal at Anfield in 2005.
However, his wife Coleen supports the reigning Premier League champions, which led to a memorable incident when Rooney, displeased with her display of Liverpool flags outside their home after the Reds clinched the league title in the 2019-20 season, locked her out. "When Liverpool won the Premier League a few years ago, I came home while playing for Derby, and Coleen had Liverpool flags up outside the house," Rooney recounted on his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show. "It was our old house, so outside the front door there’s a little balcony, and the flag was outside the window. I told her to take it down. She had to climb out the window to get it down, so I locked her out." When asked how long she was outside, he responded, "Not too long."
Rooney's Competitive Spirit Against Gerrard
Throughout his time at Everton, Rooney never won a Merseyside derby, but he faced Liverpool in several high-stakes matches with Manchester United, who share a fierce rivalry with the six-time European Cup winners. During Rooney's tenure at Old Trafford, Liverpool's captain was his England teammate Steven Gerrard, whom Rooney regarded as a friend, yet he expressed a desire to assert his competitive edge during their encounters. "We were good mates off the pitch, but whenever I had a chance, I thought, 'I’m going to absolutely smash you,' and I did. He did the same to me," Rooney said. "You wouldn’t talk to him before the game, but you’d shake hands afterward. If there was a chance to challenge him, I took it, just as he would do with me. That’s what football is about—playing for your club and seizing those moments against big players like Gerrard or [Patrick] Vieira."
Rooney also mentioned another England teammate, Jamie Carragher, noting how he would often try to get under his skin during matches against Liverpool. "Carragher would get in your ear a lot. He liked to referee the games, and the officials would let him. His voice was constantly in your head," Rooney recalled. "Sometimes, if we were winning, I’d ask him what he was doing that night, trying to wind him up, and he’d do the same to me. Carragher was clever about it; I was more emotional. There were times I’d tell defenders they were rubbish, especially when we were ahead."
The Anxiety of the Derby Build-Up
Despite his storied career, Rooney admitted that he loathed the lead-up to the Merseyside derby, describing the anticipation as "horrible." He said, "I hated it. We didn’t win many, so when you do win one, you have to savor it. The week leading up to the game was dreadful. Being at the training ground surrounded by Evertonians made it worse. You feel sick knowing that if you lose, Liverpool will rub it in. When I returned to Everton for my second stint, I made sure to turn off all the TVs to avoid any coverage of the game, just to try to forget about it that week. It’s a massive game, and winning it brings an unparalleled sense of joy."