Michael Owen - Michael Owen: Reboot : My Life, My Time

Copyright Michael Owen 2019.

The right of Michael Owen to be identified as the owner of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holders, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

Written with Mark Eglinton.

Published in Great Britain and Ireland in 2019 by
Reach Sport, a Reach PLC business,
5 St Pauls Square, Liverpool, L3 9SJ.

www.reachsport.com
@Reach_Sport

Reach Sport is a part of Reach PLC.

One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E15 5AP.

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-911613-33-6
eBook ISBN: 978-1-911613-34-3
Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-911613-42-8

Photographic acknowledgements:
Tony Woolliscroft (front/back cover images).
Michael Owen personal collection, Reach PLC, PA Images.

Design and typesetting by Reach Sport.

FOREWRDS

THE MICHAEL
WE KNOW

N o matter which route Michael took in life, I always knew he would reach the top. When he was a child, his co-ordination was exceptional but it was his mentality that always set him apart. He was a forceful character, relentless in his pursuit of getting his own way. Winning meant everything to him.

Michael loved every sport but football always took priority. I took him to the local leisure centre as a six-year-old and was immediately struck by how clinical his finishing was. I remember turning to his mum and saying: Wow, if he develops any real pace weve got a player on our hands!

Throughout his time in junior football, he was unstoppable. Goals came thick and fast and it was fantastic hearing praise from far and wide. Those were the days; we had so much pleasure as a family watching him play.

Having had a career in the game myself, I knew the importance of mental strength and self-belief. These key ingredients prevented me from playing at a higher level. Michael naturally had these attributes; my role was to simply develop them further.

Making it as a professional footballer was never spoken about. It was a given. The only question was: what level would he attain?

Throughout his career, the remarkable thing about Michael was that his confidence never wavered. Despite serious injury, loss of form or the occasional goal drought, not once did he lose his desire or self-belief. Ive never met anybody with a mind as strong as his.

As parents, we shared the highs and lows of a career that took him right to the very top.

But, as with his brothers and sisters, the thing Im especially proud of is the way he has turned out as a father himself and an all-round decent person.

Terry Owen Senior,
Michaels dad

Hes the best sixteen-year-old Ive ever seen, and hell play for the first team at seventeen that was what Steve Heighway told me about a kid who was still at school and who he was bringing into our youth team to try and win us the FA Youth Cup. It was Michael Owen and in his first game, he scored a hat-trick against Manchester United at Anfield to take us into the semi-finals!

What stood out was his pace. He wasnt quick, it was more turbocharge pace that would take your breath away, and his aggression in the tackle left a team of streetwise, tough Scousers open-mouthed.

He did play for the first team at seventeen (and scored obviously) and with me being eighteen months older, we almost started in the team together and ended up rooming together for the next seven years.

Its fair to say for the majority of those years he was as a superstar Golden Boot winner twice, BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner, PFA Young Player of the Year, having an FA Cup final named after him in 2001, the Treble season, THAT goal in the World Cup and the Ballon dOr. It seems to me, at times, that all this almost gets forgotten when Michaels career gets talked about. He was one of the greatest strikers this country has ever produced and but for injuries would be Englands greatest ever goalscorer.

Theres no doubt, in speaking to Michael, hes been desperate to do this book and get a lot off his chest for a while that is mainly down to his decision to leave Liverpool and, years later, join Manchester United.

I tried to stop him doing both!

Hell fill you in later on how it all came about, but I must say I think some of the stick from Liverpool fans is bang out of order considering what he did for the club and the reaction other players get who did nothing for Liverpool.

It hurts Michael and his family, but hopefully this book will let people know the real story and why he came to these decisions.

My only hope in reading it is he doesnt go into too much detail about the Liverpool FC Christmas parties!

Jamie Carragher

T he first I heard about Michael was when I spoke to some England coaches who had coached him at Under-18 and Under-20/21 level. They were so excited to tell me about this young kid at Liverpool who was so quick and made such intelligent runs and could finish too.

So, as you could imagine, I was looking forward to seeing this lad break into the Liverpool first team.

I wasnt let down when I did eventually see him in that famous red shirt. It was a match against Wimbledon away on a very poor pitch and he was outstanding for one so young making clever runs off the ball, not always being seen by his teammates. But eventually one ball was delivered for him that pitted him one on one with the keeper. He calmly tucked the ball past the oncoming keeper into the net. A new, young star was born pure class. It excited me to see Michael, with his pace and intelligence.

As England manager at the time, I felt that Michael could give us new options with his blistering speed. I knew he would complement the likes of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham. Keeping an eye on his games for the rest of that 97/98 season, he just got better and better, scoring all kinds of goals. My motto was always: if youre good enough, no matter what age, youre in. So, by the time it came to pick a squad, he was a must to go to the World Cup. And what an impact he made in France