One of them has found fame and fortune on a worldwide stage, while the other is chasing the American Dream in New York. John Rooney was recently plying his trade in the murky depths of the Football League at the unglamorous Moss Rose, the home of Macclesfield Town. Now he attempting to step away from the shadow of his older brother, one of the biggest names in world football and is settling into life in the city of dreams while being surrounded by one of the most recognisable names in French football, Thierry Henry.
It is a big move for the 20 year old who is following his dream of making an attempt at carving out a successful career in Major League Soccer. John is a box-to-box midfielder who joined Everton on schoolboy forms when he was six alongside his brother Graeme and Wayne Rooney who had already been snatched up by the Liverpudlian club. He left the club at 13, at a time when his older brother Wayne was already in the media spotlight for fastly becoming the England’s biggest hope and a hero quickly turned villain at Goodison Park when he made the decision to sign for Manchester United.
John says it is a decision that he regretted, leaving the club he has supported all of his life and he realises it was a big mistake. After leaving Everton, John played for Macclefield and was largely known as being “Wayne’s little brother” regardless of the consistent performances he put in. After turning down a new contract, he trained with Huddersfield town in the summer prior to the 2010/11 League One season and was left disappointed after not being offered a contract by Lee Clark. After a three months hiatus he travelled across the Atlantic and began training at Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, with a view of being offered a contract by a MLS club in the draft, where he was only one of five non-US players in a group of 54 hopefuls dreaming to be picked to represent a club in what many are calling, the fastest growing professional football league.
After proving himself in training camps, his dream became reality as John was picked the second round of the MLS Superdraft by the New York Red Bulls and given the number 16 shirt to wear. I’m more than likely reading in-between the lines but was this a nod to the infamous Roy Keane? While Wayne Rooney has been criticised for his off-field antics as well as for his unsatisfactory performances on-field this season, John said “I want to build my own career over there (in the US) and do my best.” Afterall, he has been dogged by comparisons with his more successful brother, so why shouldn’t he take a gamble on the other side of the pond? John said “I am my own person. We don’t play in the same position, so you can’t really compare us.”
This is an opportunity for him to prove himself on the bigger stage, in a country where the MLS is moving forwards and he will be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Thierry Henry, Rafael Márquez and Carl Robinson who have international experience and have played at the highest level in club football. Regardless of Henry and Márquez who have waved goodbye to their prime, they will be fantastic role models that John can learn from and it will no doubt improve him as a player. It may not be the greatest show on Earth where he is playing against world-class opposition week in, week out, but it is a step-up from playing against mediocre sides in run-down grounds in the basement of the Football League.
He has the unfortunate surname of Rooney and that doesn’t do him many favours as he lives in the shadow of Wayne, and no doubt a high level of potential and work rate is expected from John when they find out who his oldest brother is. Wayne has said of his brother “I’m pleased he has ended up with a team on the East Coast as it makes it easier for me to get out there and see him.” Most Americans who don’t have a major interest in football haven’t heard of Wayne Rooney, so it will improve John’s low profile if he puts in a few consistent performances for the New York Red Bulls.
You never know, John Rooney could end up being the name on people’s lips, and he may end up earning more column inches than his more illustrious brother. I wish him the best of luck and will be keeping a close eye on him to see how well he fares in the MLS.
