The move came from nowhere and Sir Alex showed how much he trusted the pint sized England striker by giving him the no. 7 jersey worn by former United players Cantona, Beckham and most recently Ronaldo. He scored during pre season and scored his first league goal against Wigan in a 5-0 victory.
Then came the Derby game against Manchester City and a controversial winner in the 97th minute. Owen went on to describe that as the best moment in his footballing career so far something all United fans were thrilled to hear.
Was it better than his late double to win Liverpool the FA Cup final against Arsenal? Was it better that his hat trick at Munich against Germany in a must win world cup qualifying game for England? Was it better than 'his' goal against Argentina in the 1998 world cup? Was it better than his goals that led Liverpool to a UEFA cup win 3 days after they won the FA cup on route to their 'Micky Mouse treble'? Was it better than his goal for Real Madrid against Barcelona in another derby game? These moments are a few handpicked from a career filled with individual triumphs.I'm sure these moments would've definitely been more important and joyous for the current Manchester United number 7. Liverpool and Newcastle have lost out on a jewel to the team from Manchester for sure. But as he jogged into Anfield on Sunday, the Kop had their chants ready for Micky Owen. Where were you in Istanbul was as loud as anything around Liverpool that afternoon. Based on that chant, I've come up with a compilation of a few facts.
Michael Owen joined Liverpool at the age of 13 in 1993. The most successful club in England with 18 league titles and 4 European Cup among others. He made his senior debut in 1996 and played on with Liverpool till the summer of 2004, quitting 4 days after famously saying he bled Liverpool red and would stay at the club for a considerable time. Liverpool failed to win the Premier League as well as the Champions League during his stay at the club. Interestingly the season he left, Liverpool came out from no where to win the Champions League followed by the FA Cup a season later.
More interestingly he joined the Galacticos of Real Madrid, a team that consisted of Zinedine Zidane, Raul, David Beckham, Iker Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Robinho amongst the other stars at the club. Surely a team that would do well to lose the title to anyone. But Real Madrid finished well off the pace that season as Barcelona won the la liga and Real didn't go past the round of 16 in the Champions League. Owen left Real Madrid to join Newcastle United on transfer deadline day a year after his move from Liverpool to the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid 'rebuilt' and went on to win the title as he left.
Newcastle finished 7th that season. A decent squad, a decent manager in Graeme Souness the future was certainly bright for Newcastle. Then Newcastle started slipping, losing games and more importantly losing managers at the same rate as Cristiano Ronaldo was losing his balance while playing for Manchester United! A couple of seasons later Newcastle were relegated to the Championship. Michael Owen would surely not play in the championship specially in a World Cup year and attracted interest from clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, Hull City and Stoke City before signing for the defending champions Manchester United.
Will Owen win his first league medal now with Manchester United? How many more 'best footballing moments' will Owen have in his career with United? Will Manchester United win anything with Michael Owen omen in Manchester? We'll wait and watch!
