My Unpublished Autobiography: Owen

Author: [UK] Michael Owen Paul Heald
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: [Preface] Preface That was a summer night in Lisbon, a hot night, I stood at the penalty spot at the light stadium, my calf muscles constantly cramping. After the referee's whistle, I leaped with my right foot, kicked a rolling ball, and broke through the goal defended by Ricardo of the Portuguese team. As I walked back to the center circle, my legs were still trembling, that path was really long and difficult. But the road home was even longer and more arduous. In the six incredible years of my career, I have experienced two penalty shootout deciders. The first was in the 1998 French World Cup's round of 16 against Argentina. In that match, I scored a goal that was called the "miracle goal" by many. The second sent England back home from the European Championship. I broke through Ricardo's goal, but Ricardo defeated England. That goalkeeper in gray, Ricardo, came out last and broke through the goal guarded by David James. That goal won Portugal the match, and the host secured a chance to compete with the Netherlands for the final. For both Argentina and Portugal, England lost both penalty shootout deciders. The next morning, I was staring blankly at my luggage, unable to face the fact that we had left Lisbon ten days before the final. I was sad, but you would find that I never lost faith in England—before I retired, we would definitely win a major tournament. No matter how deep the pain Portugal left us with, I would never give up. Looking back at the seven years at Liverpool and the six years wearing the England jersey, I was always proud and optimistic. At the 1998 World Cup, I was like Wayne Rooney now—a fearless eighteen-year-old boy who had just gained some fame and was starting to enter the eyes of Merseyside fans. Thinking back at the changes that have happened in the past six years, I don't know if I will encounter so many things in the coming years. When I was seventeen, I joined Liverpool's first team, and in just matches, I broke through Wimbledon's goal. After that, I represented England in four major international matches, scoring every time. If you include the European Super Cup and the Community Shield—both one-game decisive matches (the Super Cup is played between the champions of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, and the Community Shield is played between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup champion, both in a single-match format)—I have won six trophies for Liverpool in the past six years, including the triple crown of the 2001 FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup. In the final of the 2001 FA Cup, I scored two goals against Arsenal. Those two goals still excite me to this day, and they were a shining moment in my career. I have played sixty matches for England, scored twenty-six goals, was once named European Footballer of the Year, and even completed a hat-trick in the England vs. Germany match in Munich. Before the 2004–2005 season, I had already scored one hundred and eighteen league goals for Liverpool. At Anfield, I have witnessed Liverpool's rise from peak to trough, seeing Houillier come and go. I have also sat in the hotel where the England team stayed in Lisbon, listening to Benitez—Houillier's successor—tell how he would turn Liverpool into a great and unique team. Of course, football is not the only thing in my life. I grew up in Flintshire, North Wales, a quiet place with green fields. After my father, Terry, retired from lower-tier football, he moved the family there to settle. Six years have passed since that memorable night in Saint-étienne, France, and now I am twenty-three, a father, and have a home I have always dreamed of. With our beautiful daughter Gemma, Louise and I are quickly moving from student friends to husband and wife. Most of my story is about family; I am lucky to have children, and I want to be a family man, providing a happy and stable environment for them to grow up in. I used to run around a lot as a child, full of adventures. Similarly, as a child, I understood the value of money and the meaning of hard work. Yes, I cried once when I reached the football school of the FA in Lille, France, when I was only fourteen and still needed someone to take care of me. My father, mother, brothers, and sisters have always supported me. They were there when I broke the student scoring record in Deeside Park; and they were also there when I needed to put the pressure of the 2004 European Championship behind me—in a ship docked in a port in Portugal. My football career began with playing everywhere, and since then, I have had many discoveries. My father never mentioned his own football career, which involved constant transfers (sorry, Dad), but when we finally convinced him to tell his story, our family became closer. Everything I have done in my football career owes a lot to my father. My new home has a stable, and the horses often stick their heads out. My children can watch them grow up. One day, I will even tell Gemma how, in January 2004, her mother, Louise, fell hard from the back of her horse, Isabelle (Louise's favorite horse); I will also tell her how, when Louise was suffering from severe pelvic fractures and other injuries in the hospital, my family came to us and helped us through the tough times. No one's sports career is smooth sailing, no matter how successful it may seem on the surface. So in this book, I will tell you how I struggled with my Achilles tendon and other injuries, and I will talk about the controversy of the 2000 European Championship, my deteriorating relationship with Kevin Keegan, and the stories in the tabloids about my gambling. This book will also tell you about the hard work I went through to get myself fit before the quarter-final match against Brazil at the 2002 World Cup. For me, this process included twenty-four hours of treatment, chaos, and pain, a story I haven't told you yet. After the 2004 European Championship, just as I was saying goodbye to my teammates, someone asked me to explain why I believed England would finally break free from its repeated disappointments in the past fourteen years and win the championship. Can I still wait for that day? Yes, I can, because I have great confidence in this team. I know it's hard to keep faith in yourself when you come home empty-handed every time. But all I can do is calm down and think about how to succeed next time. In the UK, people always complain that we don't play well enough and that we lose every penalty shootout. But think about the fans of Italy, Spain, and Germany. Italian fans expect more from their team to win the championship than we do, but they were eliminated in the group stage of the European Championship, even earlier than us, and did they complain about bad luck? Spain, the host country's neighbor, had the advantage of being the host, but they still didn't qualify from the group stage, just like Germany, and did they complain? In national team matches, a champion is only produced every two years; while at Liverpool, we have four chances to win a championship every season. As a club team, even finishing second, third, or even fourth in the Premier League is a small success, because it means you can participate in the next season's UEFA Champions League. As a player for England, no matter what we do, if we don't win the championship, the fans will be like deflated balloons. Things should be this way, but we must remember—club matches and national team matches are different, and we must keep confidence in these talented players. England's coach, Sven-G?ran Eriksson, reminded us after the European Championship that in the three and a half years since he took over the England team, we have only lost three matches in international competitions, yet we always asked ourselves, "Why didn't we win?" In 2002 against Brazil, we were leading 1–0 and controlled the game until they equalized. This time in Lisbon against France, we were about to win, but after the ninetieth minute, Zinedine, who performed excellently, scored two goals, and we lost to Portugal in the penalty shootout. In my eyes, we are always unlucky, especially in the match against France. We lost the match not because of a curse or because we were worse than others. There are six to seven teams in the world that have the strength to win major international championships, and England is always one of them, and I believe we will still be a favorite to win the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Every time we are eliminated, we analyze our performance, which always gives us a sense of frustration, because we know we are no worse than the four teams that advanced to the semi-finals. This feeling was even stronger after Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, and the Czech Republic reached the final four of the 2004 European Championship, so I believe our chances are great in Germany. I played football because I wanted to win honor and live a thrilling life. I really want to win the World Cup for England, I want to see the fans' reaction when we win, in England, the passion for football always ignites the players. Seeing the joy of winning sweep across England will be a beautiful memory for life, just like when the England rugby team won the World Cup. In the domestic league, I really want to see Liverpool succeed again. For thirteen years, I have been part of this club. Nothing makes me happier than seeing the red half of Merseyside become a dominant force in the league. Before I retire, I need to win at least one or two Premier League championship medals first. Owen is the once-legendary British football prodigy, today's world's leading scorer; helped Liverpool win six trophies, achieving the triple crown; twice participated in the World Cup, twice excelled in the European Championship. This book contains everything this modest genius has never revealed: his interactions with star players, his complex relationships with famous coaches; his touching family life, his interesting romance with Louise, his deep affection for his daughter; the highlights of major matches, his peak moments; his bold real estate purchases, his spirited horse betting, and his joyful life. Owen openly faces doubts and criticism, and in his autobiography, he makes unprecedented confessions.