Neglect for a second the transfer to Previous Trafford and his doubtful commentary profession, however as a substitute bear in mind the golden boy who set Anfield on hearth.
A participant born for the massive stage, somebody who defied his youth and nonetheless ended his profession with questions like what if?
What if he stayed at Anfield? What if his hamstrings stayed intact?
However regardless of all that, Liverpool witnessed a generational expertise who burst onto the scene on the age of 17, a product of the academy and a participant who made a brand new era fall in love with soccer.
Who else however Michael Owen?
All the time 17 at coronary heart
“He is prepared for no matter you throw at him; nothing fazes Michael Owen,” Liverpool legend Steve Heighway as soon as mentioned. ‘He is prepared. If the supervisor needs a advice from me, Michael will get it.”
Because the suggestions go, few are higher.
With blistering tempo, a deadly finisher and elite consciousness, Owen’s skills have been no higher than his years and at simply 17 he made his debut for Liverpool from the bench.
The Englishman had a celebrity on his doorstep and he did not wait lengthy to point out what was in retailer for him. He scored sixteen minutes into his debut towards Wimbledon in 1997.
It was the primary of 158 objectives for the membership throughout his seven years at Anfield and made him the Reds’ youngest ever goalscorer at 17 years and 143 days, a document that stood till November 2016, when Ben Woodburn aged 17 scored towards Leeds. and 42 days.
He shortly turned irreplaceable, stepping up in Robbie Fowler’s absence and turning into Roy Evans’ go-to man in assault – a duty Owen was eager to position on his younger shoulders.
His emergence got here inside a 22-month interval that additionally noticed the arrival of Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, a defining period for the membership.
In his first full season within the first staff, Owen scored 23 objectives in all competitions and actually he would maintain the title of the membership’s high scorer for seven consecutive seasons.
Each time he discovered the web he had a childlike pleasure and loved each purpose as if it have been his first.
It was that unbridled pleasure that endeared him to many.
Owen’s sport could have seemed easy in comparison with at present’s degree, however he was brutally environment friendly. Changing into the youngest participant to attain 100 Premier League objectives doesn’t occur by chance.
Nor does profitable the Ballon d’Or, which Owen is just the fourth Englishman to take action after an impeccable 2000/01 season. He scored 24 objectives in 46 video games and helped Liverpool to an unprecedented treble.
And we fondly bear in mind his fast double within the FA Cup closing towards Arsenal, a second that outlined his time on the membership.
However by then, a defining hamstring damage in 1999 had began a dreaded clock that led to a gradual decline in his physique’s skill to compete on the high.
“You attempt to idiot your self at first and inform your self that every thing could be advantageous, however there was little question that for a very long time my bodily skills have been declining and my profession was slowly being taken away from me,” mirrored Owen with The Athletic.
However that did not cease Actual Madrid taking a dive in 2004, with £8 million sufficient to win him to Spain after 297 video games and 158 objectives for the Reds.
“I’ve at all times had a burning want to push myself and that’s the reason I used to be disenchanted by the defeatist reactions to my switch,” Owen mentioned of his switch.
It was a transfer that will set in movement a future transfer to Man United, tainting his legacy at Anfield for a lot of.
Accidents and legacy
From the heights of managing Liverpool’s striker and amassing one particular person accolade after one other, his departure to Anfield has definitely modified the notion of the as soon as golden boy.
Owen would play only one season for Actual Madrid earlier than transferring to Newcastle for a whopping £17 million, a payment that Liverpool have been unable and unwilling to match, regardless of each side being open to a return.
“I flew again to Liverpool after which Newcastle had made a bid for £17 million and the president mentioned to me, you go to Newcastle otherwise you keep,” Owen recalled of the occasions of 2005.
“Liverpool needed to match it they usually mentioned they might solely go as much as £10 million, however I selected Newcastle and I had it in my contract. I might go to Liverpool after a yr, and after two years the payment would go down and we might let Liverpool know.
“Newcastle was nice however I wished to go to Liverpool… At each alternative I attempted to get again to Liverpool nevertheless it simply by no means occurred.”
As a substitute, he made the controversial transfer to Man United in 2009. A transfer that value him many followers and tarnished his legacy at Anfield, particularly when he later referred to United as ‘we’.
Not like Carragher and Gerrard, who stay adored and revered figures, Owen’s private achievements by no means made the Kop really feel the identical means.
However he gave his finest years to the Reds and I’m simply one in every of many who idolized and impressed Owen – I even religiously watched his ‘Soccer Expertise’ DVD, which is now extensively accepted as a tragic comedy.
His post-Liverpool adventures have muddied the waters in the case of the striker’s legacy, however his explosive rise to superstardom shouldn’t be forgotten; few have been so lethal in membership historical past.
Consider Michael Owen the Crimson.
{The teenager} with the world at his toes and a quick tempo, the one who impressed many and made them fall in love with the sport and Liverpool due to his childlike enthusiasm.
