Rooney set to support Ole's Reds in Poland
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has delighted fans by revealing he is travelling to Poland to cheer on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reds in the Europa League final.
The club’s all-time leading goalscorer shared a photo via his official Twitter account early on Wednesday morning, showing him and his son on a flight to Gdansk.
A small number of United fans are set to attend the showpiece finale at Gdansk Stadium, as per ongoing coronavirus restrictions, and their voices will hopefully inspire the team to glory.
Next stop, Poland ✈️🏆🔴 #mufc #europaleaguefinal pic.twitter.com/56mKje0sCb
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) May 26, 2021
Rooney knows all about European finals from his time at United, of course: he famously played a crucial role in our 2008 Champions League triumph over Chelsea in Moscow, Russia.
Wayne endured couple of disappointing defeats to Barcelona in the same competition back in 2009 and 2011 - scoring a lovely goal in the latter - but he was on the winning side once again in 2017, stepping off the bench in our Europa League final success over Ajax in Stockholm, Sweden.
Wayne endured couple of disappointing defeats to Barcelona in the same competition back in 2009 and 2011 - scoring a lovely goal in the latter - but he was on the winning side once again in 2017, stepping off the bench in our Europa League final success over Ajax in Stockholm, Sweden.
PREPARING FOR A EUROPEAN FINAL
Earlier this season, Rooney recorded an amazing episode of UTD Podcast and spoke brilliantly about his experience of winning the Champions League in 2008.
Wayne lifted the lid on how he prepared for the occasion and admitted the hours ahead of the match dragged on. “It was the longest day ever,” he recalled. “It was an 11 o’clock kick-off over there or something. For me, that’s an absolute nightmare. For those night kick-offs, I don’t sleep.
“I remember I watched Sister Act 2 on my laptop in the hotel room. I used to do that – put a movie on or watch something on YouTube just to take my mind off the game.
“I just remember it being the longest day ever really and just wanting the game to come. Obviously when it did, it went into extra-time, so it was a long game as well.”
Earlier this season, Rooney recorded an amazing episode of UTD Podcast and spoke brilliantly about his experience of winning the Champions League in 2008.
Wayne lifted the lid on how he prepared for the occasion and admitted the hours ahead of the match dragged on. “It was the longest day ever,” he recalled. “It was an 11 o’clock kick-off over there or something. For me, that’s an absolute nightmare. For those night kick-offs, I don’t sleep.
“I remember I watched Sister Act 2 on my laptop in the hotel room. I used to do that – put a movie on or watch something on YouTube just to take my mind off the game.
“I just remember it being the longest day ever really and just wanting the game to come. Obviously when it did, it went into extra-time, so it was a long game as well.”
UTD Podcast: How Wayne prepared for Moscow Video
UTD Podcast: How Wayne prepared for Moscow
"It was the longest day ever," says Rooney, discussing his unusual preparation for the 2008 Champions League final...
Asked whether there were lots of team meetings and video analysis before the final, Wayne added: “Less so because we knew Chelsea inside out so there was less than if it was a foreign team.
“You’d be looking at video clips of teams usually. Of course you’d know the [European] players but you wouldn’t know them as well as you knew the Chelsea lads. We knew what to expect with Chelsea and I knew their defenders’ strengths and weaknesses inside out as well.
“The important thing [on matchday] is not to let your mind wander and the big thing I have, still to this day, is I never think about winning the game. I’m always thinking about what happens if we lose and that fear of losing the game. It’s more about me trying to control that.”
“You’d be looking at video clips of teams usually. Of course you’d know the [European] players but you wouldn’t know them as well as you knew the Chelsea lads. We knew what to expect with Chelsea and I knew their defenders’ strengths and weaknesses inside out as well.
“The important thing [on matchday] is not to let your mind wander and the big thing I have, still to this day, is I never think about winning the game. I’m always thinking about what happens if we lose and that fear of losing the game. It’s more about me trying to control that.”
Back to Top