#2 Hat-trick on Old Trafford debut (September 28, 2004)
The Theatre of Dreams can prove to be a daunting experience not just for the opposition but also for the home players who step onto the turf with the immense pressure to perform always on their shoulders.
Rooney displayed no such reservations and in fact, made his debut for Manchester United against Fenerbahce in the UEFA Champions League group match on 28 September 2004, a night to remember with a stellar hat-trick that made him the youngest player to achieve the feat in Europe’s premier club competition, aged 18 years and 335 days.
He had to wait for nearly a month after signing on the dotted line for United before making his debut as he recovered from a metatarsal injury he picked up while on international duty with England at Euro 2004, but his performance that night against the Turkish outfit was as if he had never been away from the pitch.
The day before the match, Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper Rustu Recber had dismissed Rooney’s threat saying, “People expect great things of Rooney but he has no experience of club football at this level.”
However, the Turkish international was left to rue his words as Rooney completed a memorable hat-trick which featured a left foot strike from Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s perfect through ball, a dummy followed by a right-foot strike from outside the penalty area and a free kick on the edge of the Turkish side’s box to cap off a perfect debut for Rooney and a memorable evening as United won 6-2.
