Michael Owen: We Will Miss You!

Who can forget Michael Owen?? That pace forward who captures everyone’s heart with his fantastic performance  and fantastic goals!! Now that forward’s time in the world of football is nearing to an end as today he will say goodbye to his wonderful career after playing his last match against Southampton.

The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Michael Owen started his professional career by joining Liverpool by signing a contract on his 17th birthday. He was rated as “the best attacker of his age in the country”. He scored his first goal on his debut for Liverpool on 6 May 1997 against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park.  Liverpool gave tough challenge to Manchester United but just because they were unable to defeat Wimbledon, Manchester United clinched the premier league title.

Though he got hamstring injury, still he was awarded Golden Boot for 1998-99 season and that was really something to cheer about. He also became second in the race of PFA Young Player of the Year Award behind Chelsea‘s (now Juventus) Nicolas Anelka. But this did not affect him in anyway.

On 13 August 2004, Real Madrid signed him for a fee of £8 million, also swapping midfielder Antonio Nunez.

He had a slow start here. He was usually benched and and maybe that’s the reason of his poor form. For Real Madrid, Owen hardly scored goals and impressed the critics with his performance. But he managed to score four to five goals for the club every season.

He also joined Newcastle United for 4 years in 2005 before returning to Manchester United in 2009.

On 4 September 2012, Owen joined Stoke City on a one-year contract. But here too, he got less time to show his ability on the ground. He appeared in only 8 matches so far with only 1 goal. By this time, maybe, his value would have decreased as many young players are now on the track for example Peter Crouch.

Owen has now retired after playing his last match today in a 1-1 draw against Southampton, coming on for Jonathan Walters in the 74th minute.

Michael Owen has shown us his many skills, pace, goals and also gave us the reason to celebrate. We will never forget him for his contributions to the world of football.