Rooney nears end of MLS stint with positive memories, one regret
In the next few days or perhaps few weeks, depending on how long D.C. United lasts in these MLS playoffs, Wayne Rooney will settle into a firstclass seat and, as he has done several times during a 1 [1/2]-season tenure in America, cross the Atlantic.
Only this time it will be to stay, the end of a short-but-sweet residence that hoisted United's international profile and, coinciding with Audi Field's opening, rekindled local interest in the four-time champions after years of dormancy.
Rooney has delivered extraordinary goals — from beyond midfield, on stellar free kicks, in critical moments — and a tackle/assist last year that will live forever in supporters' memories.
He also has been the subject of distraction and drama, from tabloid headlines to family issues. The latter stir — his homesick wife Coleen was intent on moving the family back to England this summer — led to the jarring announcement in August that Rooney would leave MLS early and sign with Derby County, a second-flight English club, to become a player and assistant coach this winter.
He was not here long enough to merit a soulful farewell or leaguewide tributes. United's failure to beat nineman Cincinnati in the regular-season finale — with Rooney sidelined by a yellow-card suspension — all but ended the possibility of one last Audi Field serenade this postseason.
If United were to win at Toronto FC on Saturday, it would visit top-seeded New York City FC in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Odds are, Rooney's MLS tenure will end sooner rather than later. Shortly thereafter, he will dash back to England, reunite with his wife and four children and prepare for the last stage of a spectacular career.
"Still hoping we can change his mind and make him stay," goalkeeper Bill Hamid said. "He has come here and done some amazing things."
Before he departs, Rooney has one final mission here.
"We're capable of doing really well in the playoffs," he said of a fifth-seeded D.C. squad (13-10-11) that did not concede a goal in the final five games of the regular season (3-0-2). "We know it's going to be tough. It starts in Toronto. To play at home would have been better, obviously. We are where we are. We have had two weeks to get ready for this game."
Rooney, who will turn 34 next Thursday, has had three weeks to prepare after serving that late suspension, part of a string of absences in recent months: He missed five of the last 12 regular-season matches because of suspensions, injuries, illness and family matters.
Nonetheless, he continues to lead United in goals (11) and assists (eight). Since July 1, though, he has scored once. "The chapter isn't closed," coach Ben Olsen said. "And that's exciting because he has been a big plus for this club."
Because the season is not over, Rooney and the team have been reluctant to talk at length about his legacy; there is, after all, a trophy to pursue.
In an interview this week, Rooney allowed himself to reflect a bit.
"I will miss my teammates. I've been great friends with a lot of them," he said while rubbing gray and red whiskers covering his chin and jaw. "I will miss the banter in the locker room. Playing here has been something I have really enjoyed. Of course, I am going to miss it.
"It's been a good chapter in my life, in my career, something I will always remember."
Unless United makes a playoff run, Rooney will remember last year more than this year. The 2018 surge lifted a lowly team into the playoffs, and Rooney's attacking partnership with Argentine midfielder Luciano Acosta was a joy to witness.
"For me, the highlight was getting into the playoffs last year," Rooney said. "It was massive for the club, for the fans, to bring some excitement back to the team."
Though United was ousted by Columbus in a first-round, penalty-kick tiebreaker, United was back on MLS's map and in the D.C. sports consciousness.
This season started with great promise, got sidetracked, then regained its way. The Rooney-Acosta connection, however, fizzled. Two months ago, Acosta lost his starting job.
"Consciously, we didn't want to concede as many goals as we did last season," Rooney said in explaining the offensive problems. "So maybe the way we play is a little bit different. We play a bit deeper and don't have as much possession."
While Acosta seemed burdened by the disappointment of not moving to Paris Saint-Germain, Rooney encountered off-field headaches.
In December, after consuming several drinks and a sleeping pill on a flight from Saudi Arabia, he was arrested at Dulles International Airport for opening a security door in the terminal. He was charged with public swearing/intoxication and paid a small fine.
On multiple occasions during the year, British tabloids published photographs of him socializing with women at restaurants and bars. Although Rooney said nothing inappropriate occurred, it did not sit well with his wife.
During the year, Coleen Rooney struggled to assimilate; the couple had spent their entire lives in the Manchester-Liverpool area of northwest England. When she and the kids moved out of the family's rented house in Bethesda, Maryland, this summer, her husband relocated to a condominium, owned by United management, at a development near Audi Field.
"Of course, you miss them," he said of his family. "It was the same [when he first arrived last year]. As an athlete, you have to deal with it."
Olsen and Rooney's teammates speak highly of him, admiring his work ethic and leadership, experience and friendship. Late this season, he arranged a limousine and suite at a Redskins game for the squad.
"He has been a good teammate and ambassador for the club," Olsen said. "He is a very knowledgeable guy, whether it's the locker-room dynamics or tactically. Picking his brain and discussing what we are doing internally, there's always a lot of fruitful dialogue."
Those days are almost over. He carries one lingering regret.
"When I first joined here, I wanted to win a trophy," Rooney said. "Obviously, leaving a bit earlier than we all thought, this is my last opportunity. That's my goal before I go."