Wayne Rooney

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Rooney's first senior goals came on 2 October 2002, when he scored twice in a 3–0 away win over Wrexham in the second round of the League Cup. These goals meant that Rooney was Everton's youngest-ever goalscorer at the time. On 19 October, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal. The goal ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, and also made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history. He scored in a 1–0 away win over Leeds United 15 days later. In December, Rooney was named 2002's BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Six days after claiming the award he scored the winning goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 2–1 home win. His first career red card came on Boxing Day in a 1–1 away draw against Birmingham City for a late challenge on Steve Vickers.

In Their Own Story

On 19 October 2002, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a last-minute winning goal against Arsenal. The goal ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, and also made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history. He scored in a 1–0 away win over Leeds United 15 days later. In December, Rooney was named 2002's BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Six days after claiming the award he scored the winning goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 2–1 home win. His first career red card came on Boxing Day in a 1–1 away draw against Birmingham City for a late challenge on Steve Vickers.

Reader's Guide

Rooney began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and scored 72 goals in one season, a record which stood until May 2010. At the age of nine, Rooney played for Copplehouse boys' club in the local Walton and Kirkdale junior league and scored 99 goals in his final season before being spotted by Everton scout Bob Pendleton. Rooney joined Everton at age nine, and was the Everton mascot for the Merseyside derby against Liverpool as an 11-year-old. In the 1995–96 season, he scored 114 goals in 29 games for Everton's under-10s and 11s, and by the age of 15, he was playing for the under-19s. He scored eight goals in eight games during Everton's run to the FA Youth Cup Final in 2002. In the final defeat against Aston Villa, he scored one goal and, upon scoring, revealed a T-shirt that read, 'Once a Blue, always a Blue.' Rooney was included in Everton's first team squad for their training camp in Austria in the summer of 2002 and scored his first senior goal in a 3–1 friendly victory over SC Weiz on 15 July.

Did You Know?

• Rooney scored 114 goals in 29 games for Everton's under-10s and 11s in the 1995–96 season.
• He was the Everton mascot for the Merseyside derby against Liverpool as an 11-year-old.
• Rooney's first senior goal came in a 3–1 friendly victory over SC Weiz on 15 July 2002.
• He scored eight goals in eight games during Everton's run to the FA Youth Cup Final in 2002.
• Rooney's last-minute winning goal against Arsenal on 19 October 2002 ended Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run.