Wayne's world this summer

If England are to stand a chance of winning this summer's World Cup - and sadly for me I am starting to believe they do - it is becoming increasingly evident that one man holds the key to those dreams: Wayne Rooney.

The 24-year-old Manchester United striker has hit peak form at exactly the right time and is now starting to show that he fully deserves to be included in any current list of the world's top players.

Don't get me wrong. He has always been incredibly gifted. But for a variety of reasons, those gifts have never truly shone through. His incredible potential has always been slightly under-realised. He has never quite lived up to expectations.

Well, not any more.

This season, and I am sure most Manchester United fans will agree with me on this, he has pretty much carried the club. He is the one shining star in what is otherwise a rather mediocre team.

On Tuesday night his performance against Milan was the reason United came away with one foot in the quarter-finals as opposed to a having a mountain to climb at Old Trafford. Well, Rooney's performance, combined with the fact that Milan's forwards played like a collection of Andy Cole impersonators.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid is the best thing that has ever happened to Rooney. No longer is he forced to play in the shadow of his former, frequently irritating colleague. No longer does he have to play second fiddle to the player who has perfected the art of the pointless step-over.

Rooney is now the main man at Old Trafford and he is relishing every second of it. His return of 25 goals in all competitions so far this season is living proof that Rooney has finally come of age.

I still feel Rooney has not yet totally translated this club form to the international stage. You could argue that 25 goals in 57 games for his country is an excellent return. And you would be right. But the majority of those have come either in friendlies or in games against lesser opponents.

But, given the fact that Rooney has come out of his shell for his club, I think a similar emergence is just round the corner for his country. The truly great players in history have all replicated their form for their club sides on the international stage and I am sure the young striker is well aware of that.

In the past, there have been questions about Rooney's temperament. And you only have to watch him in any game to see that his fuse is still shorter than the lifespan of a Portsmouth owner.

But for the most part at least, he seems to have toned down his aggression and channelled it into a positive determination. He still wants to win every game at all costs, but is no longer stupid enough to let that desire earn him needless cards.

From an England point of view, the dilemma is whether we want him to play more or less between now and June. Instinctively, you want Rooney to be wrapped up and hidden away in closet somewhere, only letting him out on June 12 for the World Cup. And then only after being packed in cotton wool and driven to the stadium in a car made out of bubble wrap.

The sad reality is that England's footballers are an injury-prone breed: shoulders that dislocate at will; groins that spontaneously collapse; metatarsal bones that explode without warning.

It simply wouldn't be England unless they had some serious injury to a key player in the run-up to a big tournament. Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Michael Owen and even Rooney himself have all found themselves spending more time with the physios than the coaches in the months before a World or European Cup.

Ashley Cole is already a doubt for South Africa after having broken his ankle in a recent league match, and while that is unfortunate, I can, like his wife Cheryl, contemplate life without Ashley. World Cups are not won by left-backs no matter how talented.

A similar injury to Rooney at any point between now and May, however, and I think you can write off England's chances of ending the 44 years of hurt.

Having said that, there is no way Manchester United can afford to use their key player sparingly. And nor should anyone expect them too. It's United that pay his wages, and the World Cup is really not their concern - as I imagine Sir Alex would be only too happy to point out if anyone was stupid enough to ask him.

But in Rooney's case I don't think that matters. More than any other player in the modern game he is one that just loves to play football. You can see it written all over his face whenever he is substituted - he hates coming off the pitch.

At the moment he is on the crest of a wave of confidence, and the best way for him to maintain that is to keep playing, keep scoring, and lead his team to trophies. By his very nature there is little chance of him suffering 'burnout'. You could get that lad to play a game every evening of the week and he would still be looking for five-a-sides to get involved with in the mornings.

Every World Cup in history has had one great player who has made it his own. And in Wayne Rooney, England have a lad who has the potential to make South Africa 2010 his tournament.

As England fans, all we can do now is hope and pray that come June 12 he is fit, happy and raring to go.

Then maybe we can dare to dream.

Makes your toes curl

Try as I might I find it almost impossible to drum up any excitement for the winter Olympics. And that's saying something for a self-confessed sport-watching addict.

When the summer games are on I am glued to the television for a couple of weeks, watching anything and everything that happens. But if you will pardon the expression, the winter version just doesn't cut any ice with me. Apart, that is, from one event: Curling.

Grown men and women, often middle-aged, sliding chunks of granite across a stretch of ice would be strange enough in itself. But that they then chase after these chunks with brushes, frantically sweeping the ice just makes it truly bizarre.

Whenever it is on I just sit there and watch it with fascination. Not so much at the event itself but at the very idea that something so strange could ever have become an Olympic sport.

I mean, how desperate for fresh ideas must the Olympic committee have been back in 1998 that they decided to upgrade this from something you may do for a laugh on frozen pond into something deserving of the ultimate sporting honour?

You could argue that curling has been around since the 16th century, which is fair enough. But so have snowball fights, and you don't see people winning medals for those do you?

Having said that, I absolutely wouldn't want curling to be removed from the games. It may be a truly weird sport but at least it is a sport.

Unlike, for example, figure skating. Now that really gets on my nerves.

The contestants may be fantastic at what they do, they may be supremely talented and fully dedicated. And in dreamy sort of way it may even be entertaining to watch.

But a sport it is not.

Winning Olympic gold for what is effectively dancing in the cold is just fundamentally wrong.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com