[mr_missile]

Otelul Galati 0 Man Utd 2


ONE YEAR ago this week Wayne Rooney said he wanted out of Old Trafford for good.

Last night, he marked that dubious anniversary by scoring two goals and celebrating in front of the fans he looked ready to turn his back on.

Rooney has long been forgiven for that moment of madness when he claimed Manchester United lacked ambition.

In fact, Rooney has an amazing capacity to bounce back from adversity — even if he has brought it all on himself most of the time.

Twelve months ago he turned round what had been an awful first half of the season during which he announced he wanted to quit United and lost the form and fitness that made him one of the world's best players.

In the second half of the campaign he powered the club to a record 19th league title and a place in the final of the Champions League.

He went into last night's game still coming to terms with the prospect he may not even get on the plane to the Euro 2012 finals because of his red card for England in Montenegro.

His three-match ban hit him so hard manager Alex Ferguson even left him out the starting line-up for Saturday's 1-1 draw at Anfield.

But while the football pitch can give him times of turmoil, it also provides him with the opportunity for salvation as it did last night.

They might have been two penalties — one in the 64th minute and the second in injury time — but he won them both and then scored them both.

United had struggled for most of the night and even had captain Nemanja Vidic sent off for a high challenge just two minutes after Rooney's opening goal.

Another Group C draw — following on stalemates against Benfica and Basel — would have made this United's worst start to any Champions League campaign.

Their prospects of reaching the knockout stages in this season's competition would have been at the very least in doubt.

Then men like Rooney intervene.

Players who change what looks like a frustrating night into one they ended up celebrating.

Players who grab things by the scruff of the neck when nobody else will and simply sort it out.

He had been quiet in the first half as the Romanians looked the more likely side to score. But, as the second period wore on, you could sense Rooney was ready to take the game away from Otelul.

A minute before his opener he had been found by Patrice Evra in the centre of the area with his back to goal.

He controlled the ball with his first touch and then turned and fired a shot that went inches wide.

Some would let such a disappointment play on their mind, even for a few minutes.

But it seemed to fire Rooney up.

He was not going to let the sight of that ball going wide be the abiding memory to follow him home to Manchester.

So, a minute later he picked the ball up and charged down the left flank.

His cross was heading for the unmarked Javier Hernandez until Sergiu Costin stuck out a hand and blocked it. German referee Felix Brych pointed straight to the spot and Rooney, looking like a man on a mission, immediately picked up the ball.

He kept his head down to avoid any attempts to put him off and placed the ball on the spot before ramming it into the right-hand corner of the net.

Oh, if only every England player could do that when it comes to the crunch.

United do like to make things difficult for themselves, however, and two minutes later Vidic capped what had been a bad night on his return from the calf injury that had ruled him out since the opening day of the season.

The Serbian defender looked rusty, making uncharacteristic errors until he went to challenge for a high ball just inside his own half with his studs were up and caught Otelul's Gabriel Giurgiu.

He was off, shown a straight red card, and United's job was still far from done.

They held out, though, until Otelul also had a man sent off in the 89th minute — Milan Perendija earning his second yellow card for fouling Hernandez.

And Rooney's second penalty just moments later made the scoreline look a lot more emphatic than it perhaps deserved.

The striker's control and movement got the better of Liviu Antal, who tripped him in the area.

Rooney picked the same side of the goal, hitting it just a bit higher. Keeper Branko Grahovac at least went the right way this time, but the ball was so well placed and hit with such power he could still get nowhere near it.

Job done for Rooney.

How England could do with a player like him next summer. But unless his appeal is successful he will not play in any of the Three Lions group games at Euro 2012.

By the time he is available they could be already out and both the country and Rooney will mourn his moment of madness in Montenegro.

With him you always have a chance, without him it's a different matter, as both club and country well know.