He is England’s fourth-highest goal scorer; the youngest player to reach 100 goals in the Premier League, an absolute peach of a goal-poacher and yet, at 33, it seems Michael Owen’s career never really reached the heights it was destined for.
A lot was expected when a young Owen first burst on to the scene in May 1997, scoring on his Liverpool-debut against Wimbledon. The change of speed he possessed, the way he ran with the ball at the defenders and his lethal finishing made him one of the feared strikers in the Premier League. In his debut season, he finished joint-top scorer, with an impressive tally of 18 goals.
In 1998, then-England manager Glenn Hoddle named Owen in his final squad for the 1998 World Cup in France. In England’s second-round match against Argentina, Owen scored a goal which is still held in high regards. After receiving a lobbed pass from David Beckham, Owen took the ball in his stride and started a blistering run towards Argentina’s goal. He left defenders Roberto Ayala and Jose Chamot for the dead — as they simply couldn’t handle his pace — before emphatically slotting the ball past the goalkeeper in to the top corner.
His first serious injury came when he damaged his hamstring muscle against Leeds United in April 1999, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. Owen’s next defining performance came against Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup Final. Liverpool trailed to a Freddie Ljungberg-goal, but with seven minutes left in the game, Owen produced a virtuoso performance. He equalised by first scoring a volley from a corner and then deep in to injury time he latched on to a long ball, holding off challenges from defenders Lee Dixon and Tony Adams, before firing past international-teammate David Seaman. It was a memorable turnaround for Liverpool, as it completed a treble-winning season for them.
Ballon d’Or and Galacticos
A scintillating hattrick against Germany in a 5-1 rout, asserted his status as one of the finest strikers at that time. Owen was named the European Footballer of the Year in 2001. He became only the fourth English player to do so.
Owen flourished under Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier. He was their top scorer from 1998 to 2004. But speculation grew over Owen’s future at Liverpool when the Frenchman was sacked in 2004 and replaced by Rafael Benitez. Real Madrid snapped him up for £8 million in August 2004.
He joined David Beckham at Real Madrid, a team which comprised of superstars like Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos and Iker Casillas among others. Owen lasted in Madrid for just one season. Limited mostly to the bench, he still had the best goals-to-minutes played ratio in the La Liga that season. He returned to England, with Newcastle United signing him in a club-record £16-million deal in August 2005. Recurring injuries restricted Owen to just 79 appearances in four seasons at St James’ Park.
Owen and out
In 2009, Owen joined Manchester United, in probably one of the most surprising transfer moves. In three seasons, Owen racked up 17 goals. His most memorable moment in a United jersey came when he scored a 96th-minute-winner against Manchester City in a 4-3 win. He left United in 2012 after his contract expired, joining Stoke City on a free transfer.
Owen has himself admitted that he hasn’t been fit since he was 19 and that he never really regained his pace. And his announcement last month about his retirement will bring down the curtains on a career that started brightly, but one that never really took off.
