Man United star Wayne Rooney on the cusp of England immortality

Posted Saturday, September 05, 2015 by Dailystar.co.uk

WAYNE ROONEY will take his shot at immortality in San Marino tonight when a bunch of part-timers stand between him and his place among the sporting gods.

For longer than Rooney has been alive, England's record goalscorer has been Sir Bobby Charlton.

His tally of 49 has stood for 45 years and the closest someone came to breaking it was Gary Lineker back in 1992.

That was until the then England boss Graham Taylor hauled him off during a game in Sweden to leave him humiliated - and stuck one behind Charlton's record forever.

But fast forward 25 years and the landmark achievement is on the brink of being bettered.

Back in March 2013 England won here 8-0 in a World Cup qualifier, when the current captain scored once.

He needs two this time round to go to the top of the charts, but if Rooney could choose opponents to stand between him and history then this lot would be high on his list.

For the record, a win for Roy Hodgson's men could secure them qualification for France 2016, but this game is more about Rooney than the result - and the man himself is licking his lips at the prospect of what could be a momentous occasion in his life, let alone his career.

HOTSHOT: Wayne Rooney will win his 106th cap against San Marino

Rooney, who has flown his family in to watch him win his 106th cap, said: "It'll be nice to finally do it and put it to the back of my mind.

"As a striker you want to score as many goals as you can. If I can get one, I'll push on to score two.

"It's not something I've talked about, then all of a sudden I was in touching distance. It's not something I've thought about until the last year or so, but it's great to have this opportunity.

"I speak to Sir Bobby quite a lot. He's at all our games. He's someone who is a hero and a legend for both club and country. He comes into the dressing room and gives me loads of advice, but we've not spoken about his records."

Charlton won the World Cup in 1966 to become one of our game's few immortals and his standing in English football will never be questioned.

Neither should Rooney's, although he continues to divide opinion in some quarters when it comes to debating who are genuine legends from different generations.

Charlton happens to be close friends with Rooney and has written a gushing tribute about him for the Football Association that will be made public once the record is beaten.

The moment has been a long-time coming and carefully planned - all Rooney has to do now is keep his end of the bargain, even it does mean surpassing one of his heroes to reach the pinnacle of the scoring charts.

But whenever it happens, Rooney insists he deserves respect even if he hasn't won a World Cup like one of his heroes and mentors.

Rooney, who also has carried the burden of being England's talisman for the last decade, added: "It's not something I'm too fussed about (getting respect).

"As long as my managers and my team-mates understand and respect the job I do for them, the day they turn round and say they don't is the day it'll bother me.

"In terms of what other people think it doesn't really concern me. Up to a couple of years ago, people were saying (Lionel) Messi wasn't Maradona because he hadn't won the World Cup.

"In my mind, Messi is a better player than Maradona. But that's how football is. It's about trophies you win. As a team, that's how you're judged.

"Sir Bobby did that. Hopefully there's still time for me to be successful like that. But the most important thing will always be the team."

The odds are, it has to be said, stacked against Rooney ever winning a World Cup like Charlton - or a major tournament at all for that matter.

But statistics show Rooney has no weakness when it comes to hitting the back of the net considering 39 of his goals have come from inside the penalty box, nine outside it including two free kicks, 11 have come from his head, 32 from his right foot and five his left.

Yet the simple truth is records don't lie. He has the chance to become the greatest goalscorer of all time and set a new target that might never be beaten.

San Marino might be a small place on the footballing map - but it might just be about to host one of the biggest things to happen in English football for quite some time.