Manchester United forward, Wayne Rooney has opened up on the secrets of being a worthy and talented striker.
Below are excerpts of how the prolific goal poacher summed up the qualities of a football striker;
“Football is the same as anything else you want to be good at; you have to work hard every day. You have to study the game as well – watch matches and look at players in your position, try to see what movement they make and how they go about what they do. That’s important to being a professional footballer.
“In terms of influences, I used to watch Jari Litmanen when I was younger. I loved the way he played, the way he created goals, scored goals and how he was always on the ball and always had time. I watched him a lot and tried to copy the way he played.
“Positioning is important for a striker. When you want to get in behind the defence, you need to stay on the defender’s shoulder, time your run and stay onside. If you’re trying to get between their midfield and defence, you need to be aware of where the space is. To time your run, you need eye contact with the midfielder or forward who’s passing the ball.
“Once he puts his head down, you make your run and get in behind the defence. To give yourself space and time you have to be aware of where your team-mates and opponents are. It’s about looking and knowing what’s around you before the ball comes to you.
“In goalscoring situations, we practice nearly every day. When you do that you get used to it. The only difference on matchday is there’s a big stadium with a crowd. It’s just being in the routine of scoring in that situation, that’s why it’s important we do it in training”.