Owen is England's most unappreciated player… career shows football's fragility

AS it’s a dull international break, how about a little football quiz?

1) Who is the only Englishman to have won the Ballon d’Or in the last 45 years?

4 Michael Owen was electric in his youth Credit: Getty

2) Who scored a hat-trick in England’s greatest win since 1966?

3) Who scored England’s greatest goal at a World Cup?

4) Who is the youngest winner of the Premier League’s Golden Boot — and also the second-youngest winner?

5)      Who is the only footballer to have played for Liverpool , Manchester United and Real Madrid?

And the answer to all five questions is ... Michael Owen .

A couple are, admittedly, matters of opinion, but you’d struggle to argue that England’s 5-1 World Cup qualifying win over Germany in Munich back in 2001 — in which Owen scored a hat-trick — wasn’t the best result the Three Lions achieved in the last half-century.

Nor that any England player ever scored a breathtaking solo goal at a World Cup anywhere near as good as Owen’s against Argentina in Saint-Etienne in 1998.

And I might also add a sixth, truly subjective, question to that earlier list: Who is the most under-appreciated England player of all time?

4 Owen broke into the Liverpool team aged just 17 Credit: Action Images - Reuters

And, again, my answer would be Owen.

This week, Owen gave an extraordinary podcast interview to Rio Ferdinand — a conversation which was remarkable for its searing honesty and complete lack of false modesty.

In it, Owen spoke about the ‘agony’ of the fleeting nature of his brilliance and his ‘embarrassment’ about his long decline.

Speaking about his share of two Premier League Golden Boots, aged 18 in 1997 and aged 19 the following year, Owen described his own talent as being as ‘rare as rocking horse s**t’.

And he is correct. Owen’s pace and finishing ability were ridiculous.

For around four or five years, for Liverpool and England, he was often unplayable.

So why the lack of love and appreciation? Why does his name lack resonance with younger generations?

Firstly, and the chief cause of Owen’s agony, were the injuries which hampered his explosive speed and meant, by his own admission, he was past his peak by his early 20s.

Secondly, for such a genuinely great player, Owen is uniquely unloved by supporters of any of the teams he played for.

Liverpool fans, who never knowingly forgive and forget, were unhappy that he left for the Bernabeu in 2004 and disowned Owen fully when he ended up at bitter rivals United.

At Old Trafford , Owen won his only league title, yet he was a bit-part player in that 2010-11 campaign — scoring only twice.

While speaking to Ferdinand, he mentioned his ‘embarrassment’ at the reduction in his own powers while at United and his wish that he could have changed his name.

4 Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid in 2004 Credit: Getty

A brief look at Micheal Owen's career...

CAREER PATH

CLUB STATS

INTERNATIONAL STATS

HONOURS

So as not to be compared to that other Michael Owen, the young, world-beating Michael Owen.

Among supporters of Newcastle, where his injuries mounted up and his commitment levels were often questioned, he became widely known as ‘England’s Michael Owen’.

But even for England, Owen was overshadowed then eclipsed.

In that last-16 match in France 98, Owen did to Argentina what Diego Maradona had done to England a dozen years earlier.

Yet it wasn’t even the most memorable or significant moment of the night.

That was David Beckham’s red card for a petulant kick at Diego Simeone before England went out on penalties.

In fame or infamy, Beckham had a habit of overshadowing Owen.

When Owen won his Ballon d’Or in 2001 — after Liverpool won three knockout trophies — Beckham was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

And as Owen admits, the Ballon d’Or didn’t mean anywhere near as much in 2001 as during the years when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo squabbled over it, and a new age of individualism took hold in football.

Towards the end of his peak footballing years, Owen briefly partnered Wayne Rooney , who soon eclipsed him.

Then came Harry Kane , who outscored all of England’s greatest scorers, Owen included, while reaching two Euros finals and a World Cup semi-final — leaving the ‘Golden Generation’ in the shade.

And while others might have considered Owen’s interview with Ferdinand to be a little arrogant and self-pitying, I found it thought-provoking.

I wouldn’t overdo the violin music for a multi-millionaire who went on to enjoy a second career as a racehorse owner.

Genuine sympathy should be reserved for the V11 group of players — including Danny Murphy, Michael Thomas and Rod Wallace — whose fortunes were wrecked by alleged fraud, as highlighted last week in the excellent BBC documentary Football’s Financial Shame.

But Owen’s words did bring home the fragility of an elite sportsman’s existence.

The pain of the ‘what might have beens’ when a talent burns so brightly, yet so briefly.

How true genius can be wrecked by a dodgy hamstring.

And how a player as great as Owen can be so largely overlooked.

4 Owen ended his career at Stoke City Credit: PA:Press Association