Rooney Recalls Iconic United Debut

Though his 12-year Manchester United career has established Wayne Rooney as a Reds legend, it took him under an hour to enter club folklore as only the second debutant to score a hat-trick for the club. Here, he recalls his incredible bow in forensic detail…

“Signing for United was brilliant – although it was a very long day. I remember going to have my medical in the morning, which was all done pretty quickly, and then after that I went over to Old Trafford to meet Sir Alex. There was a bit of waiting around then, as Everton had yet to send one or two bits of paperwork over, and it seemed to take forever! The deal finally got done later in the night and although it was a long day, it was definitely worth it.

I had a broken foot when I signed so it was tough to come in and have to go straight to the physio and do rehab work. I eventually got back training with the team and just wanted to play. Training had been brilliant. I obviously knew a few of the England lads such as Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown, so I found it quite easy to settle in. I went from growing up watching Ruud van Nistelrooy play to preparing to line up alongside him, which was exciting for me. The training went well with Ruud and it was such a great honour to play with such a talented player and a real top goalscorer.

I was probably ready to play for the league game before Fenerbahçe, at Tottenham, but the manager said he wanted to wait to play me in the Champions League. There was excitement for the next few days and I had to try to calm myself down a bit; I couldn’t wait to play, I just wanted to get out there. The wait was quite tough and I was thinking about the game in terms of how it was going to go. I was nervous as well. It was difficult to get to sleep the night before and I kept waking up every hour. I was constantly looking at the clock hoping that it was morning so the game would be a bit closer.

Once the day came it was just about waiting around in the team hotel before going to the stadium. It’s only a short drive from the hotel to the stadium and it’s only really when you get close up that you see all the fans and sense the anticipation – that was a great moment. When I got off the coach I got a great reception from the fans.

The dressing room is quite quiet before games. The players are focusing on preparing themselves for the game. I kept quite quiet and just took it all in. I felt ready and excited. I was just itching to get out. When you first go out to do your warm-up that’s when the adrenaline really starts and suddenly the game is there in front of you. As soon as I got out there for the warm-up I felt the energy and excitement from the crowd; it was a great feeling.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: ‘This is what you want to be doing, you want be playing in Champions League games and be part of special nights like these at Old Trafford.’ You walk out on to the pitch and everything feels so much bigger and on another level. That was a big reason why I joined Manchester United.

The shirt was a bit tight, which is why I ripped it a bit! Walking down that tunnel was a fantastic moment. I’d obviously done it as an opposition player but to do it as a United player, hearing the crowd sing my name, was a special moment.

I think what really helped was grabbing that first goal early, which settled me into the game and helped me get two other goals. I remember Ruud picking the ball up and I decided to make a run. He played a great pass to me on my left foot, after which I noticed that the keeper had come off his line so I knew that if I dinked it over him I would have a chance. Thankfully as I hit it the keeper went down and it’s gone in to the roof of the net. That was a special moment.

For my second, Giggsy got the ball and took a player on, then Ruud made a run that dragged the defender away so I instinctively dropped back a bit. Then Giggsy rolled a cross back and I dropped my shoulder, took it past the defender and drilled it in to the bottom corner.

For the hat-trick goal, Giggsy was all set to take the free-kick but I said to him, ‘I think I’m going to score this, I fancy myself to score.’ The game was more or less done at the time so he let me take it and thankfully it went in. Every goal is special, but those three, on my debut, were massive for me.

At the time I didn’t actually have a house in Manchester, I was staying in a hotel. After the game we went back with my wife and two friends and I just sat down and couldn’t believe what had just happened. That was when it really hit me that I’d just scored a hat-trick on my debut. It was a great day for myself and the club, and is something I’ll never forget. It’s a night that will always be very special to me."