Unpublished Memoirs: Owen's Autobiography

Author: (English) Owen
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 Estadio da Luz, my calf cramping uncontrollably. After the referee's whistle, I leaped with my right foot, kicked a rolling ball, and broke through the goal guarded by Ricardo of the Portuguese team. As I walked back to the center circle, my legs were still trembling, that path was so long, so difficult. But the road home was even longer, more difficult. In my six incredible years of professional career, I have experienced two penalty shootout deciders. The first was in the 1998 FIFA World Cup 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, was the last one to come out and broke through the goal guarded by David James. That goal won Portugal the match, giving the host the chance to compete with the Netherlands for the final. For 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 did not lose 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 not 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, breaking the goal of Wimbledon in just matches. After that, I represented England in four major international matches, scoring in each one. If you include the European Super Cup and the Community Shield—both one-match decisive tournaments (the Super Cup is contested between the champions of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, and the Community Shield is contested between the Premier League champion and the FA Cup champion, both in a single-match format)—I have helped Liverpool win six trophies in the past six years, including the treble of the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Cup in 2001. In the final of the 2001 FA Cup, I scored two goals against Arsenal. Those two goals still excite me to this day, they were a shining moment in my career. I have played sixty matches for England, scoring twenty-six goals, and was once named FIFA World Player of the Year. I also completed a hat-trick in the England vs. Germany match in Munich. Before the 2004–2005 season began, I had already scored one hundred and eighteen league goals for Liverpool. At Anfield, I witnessed Liverpool's rise from peak to trough, seeing Houillier come and go. I 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, 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 often roamed outside 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 in Lille, France, run by the Football Association, when I was only fourteen and still needed to be taken care of. 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 there when I needed to put the pressure of the 2004 European Championship behind me—in a boat docked in a port in Portugal. My football career began with playing everywhere, and that's when I 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 grew 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 peek 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); and I will 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 athlete's career is smooth sailing, no matter how successful it may appear on the surface. So in this book, I will tell you how I struggled with injuries to my Achilles tendon and other parts of my body, 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 put into getting myself fit before the quarter-final match against Brazil at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a story I haven't told yet. This process involved twenty-four hours of treatment, confusion, and pain, and I haven't told you about it yet. After the 2004 European Championship, just as I was saying goodbye to my teammates, someone asked me to explain why I thought England would finally break through from its series of disappointing performances over 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 maintain confidence when you go 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 in every penalty shootout. But think about the fans of Italy, Spain, and Germany. Italian fans expect more from their team winning the championship than we do, but they were eliminated in the group stage of the European Championship, even earlier than us, did they complain about bad luck? Spain, a neighbor of the host Portugal, had the advantage of being the host, but they still didn't qualify from the group stage, just like Germany, did they complain? In international matches, a champion is only produced every two years; in 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 like this, but we must remember—club matches and international matches are different, 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, we had only lost three matches in international competitions, and after every loss, we asked ourselves, "Why didn't we win?" In 2002 against Brazil, we led 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 Zidane scored two goals for a strong performance, 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, nor 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 FIFA 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 not worse than the four teams that advanced to the semi-finals. This feeling was even stronger when 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 at least need to win one or two Premier League championship medals. Owen is the once-legendary British football prodigy, now the world's greatest goalscorer; helped Liverpool win six trophies, achieving the treble; twice competed 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 love story with Louise, his deep affection for his daughter; the highlights of major tournaments, his peak moments; his bold real estate purchases, his love for racing horses, and his joy in life. Owen openly faces doubts and criticism, and in his autobiography, he makes unprecedented confessions.