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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2014 20 Sport FOOTBALL Download the MaltaToday App now Rooney excited to lead England into a new era Wayne Rooney is excited to be leading England into a new era – one which the newly-appointed captain is determined will be a success A decade on from announcing him- self on the international scene as a fresh-faced teenager at Euro 2004, the 28-year-old will on Wednesday evening lead the Three Lions out at Wembley. The international friendly with Norway will not be the first time Rooney has worn the armband but his 96th cap will be his first as per- manent captain, having replaced Steven Gerrard following his inter- national retirement in the wake of a disastrous World Cup campaign. Nine weeks on, this match marks the starts a new chapter for Roy Hodgson's side and, while the post- Brazil hangover means Wembley will only be half full, England's new skipper hopes they can soon win around fans. "It's a great honour to captain my country, something I'm extremely proud of," Rooney said. "I want to be a successful, I want to be a successful captain and I want this team to be successful. "I am sure all the team want that, we're working hard to try and get there. Tomorrow is the start of a new chapter. "We have to put the summer be- hind us. We were all, obviously, very disappointed. "We went into the tournament with high hopes, we were expect- ing better for ourselves, but unfor- tunately that didn't happen but we have to move on. There's no point looking back. "We're still continuing on the road we've started. We knew it was going to be tough. "We've obviously got a couple of retirements and then we've got young players coming into the squad, which is exciting. "It is exciting times with the play- ers you see week in, week out for the clubs. "What we need now is these play- ers to bring that form to England and I am sure we'll do very well." Rooney impressed in his first out- ing as captain, addressing a packed press conference at The Grove with honesty and sincerity. The forward spoke well of his predecessors as skipper and prom- ised not to change his demanding personality. Rooney did, though, accept that the role brings with it extra re- sponsibilities, not only meaning he captains the side but represents the nation as an ambassador. "You have to be the leader, espe- cially with the amount of young players in the team at the minute," he said. "And then, of course, you do have to be an ambassador, you have to take the responsibility and be a role model for young kids. That's some- thing I want to do. "Obviously I had a few issues in my younger days, but they're be- hind me, I'm prepared to take that responsibility and hopefully repre- sent my country well." Rooney spoke of his desire to win a major trophy with England upon being announced as captain and highlighted the sole World Cup win of 1966 when asked if he dared to dream. "As a footballer, you don't want to settle for anything less than the best," he said. "You want to win and that's the aim, that is what we - me and the manager and the other players - want to do. We want to win. "Sometimes you can't but that's our aim, that's what we try and do. We give everything we can. "Obviously having the knowhow of how to win a title [helps] and I've been fortunate enough to do that with United and a lot of players have done that with their clubs. "It's completely different situ- ation with your country because you're all coming together from your clubs and none of us have done it with our country, so it is different. "It would be great to be successful with England. It's a big dream for us all and if we can do that then he would be great to create history." Wayne Rooney is honoured to captain Engkand Falcao relishing LVG link up RADAMEL Falcao is excited to be working with Louis van Gaal after completing his last-minute loan move to Manchester United. The prolific Colombian striker, one of the stars of the world game, joined United in a shock season- long deal from Monaco on dead- line day. His arrival capped an extraordi- nary summer for United in which they brought in the vastly experi- enced Van Gaal as manager and spent more than £150million on players. Falcao, who was heavily linked with Real Madrid last week, is now looking forward to immersing himself in Dutch boss Van Gaal's philosophy. The 28-year-old, whose £6mil- lion loan could be made perma- nent next summer, told MUTV: "I am very excited for that. Van Gaal is a very good trainer with a lot of experience. "I want to do the best for the team, for him and for the supporters." Falcao will join British record signing Angel di Maria, Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata in a formidable attacking unit. Former United defender Rio Fer- dinand, who left Old Trafford in the summer, is impressed by the recruitment. Ferdinand, now at QPR, tweeted: "@ManUtd have gone huge! Falcao & di maria & the early signings...i hope they all fit in & gel. Need car- rick fit too. The Firepower is nuts." As Falcao arrived, United allowed homegrown striker Danny Wel- beck to move to Arsenal for a fee thought to be around £16million. Former United defender and assistant manager Mike Phelan believes that is a shame and signi- fies a major strategy change at the club. Phelan told BBC Sport: "They have probably lost the way of Man- chester United a little bit. "Now, rather than produce, it may be the case where they are buying in. "Someone like a Danny Welbeck has been part of United's identity and that has been broken." Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao is welcomed by Ryan Giggs Robbie Savage takes cancer-battling boy out in his Ferrari HE may be one of the pantomime 'bad boys' of football, but Robbie Savage has made a young cancer patient's year with a dream trip in his Ferrari. Six-year-old cancer patient Eddy Parry has always dreamed of going for a spin in a sports car from the famous Italian brand, so what BBC football pundit Savage did for him was incredibly special. Eddy has been through it all in his relatively short life so far: he was diagnosed two years ago with os- teosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer when he was aged just four. Since then, he has had 12 opera- tions – including the amputation of his left leg and becoming the first child fitted with a power-assisted robotic limb - plus 90 high-dose chemotherapy sessions, 35 blood transfusions, and 45 scans. He has also had two surgeries on his lungs to remove cancer. For his child, who has spent 150 days in hospital, his father Jon wanted him to have a trip in the sportscar of his dreams. That's where Savage came in. "We wrote to Robbie because we know that, like Eddy, football and fast cars are two of his greatest pas- sions," he told the Daily Mirror. "He set up this treat out of the kindness of his own heart, which speaks volumes for his warmth as a father, and we can't thank him enough for bringing a little joy into Eddy's life." For the Match of the Day pundit, it was a moving situation and one in which he desperately wanted to help in to bring joy to young Eddy. "I get hundreds of letters and emails every month from good causes, but Eddy's case touched my heart because no child deserves to go through what he has suffered," he told the Mirror. "The smile on that little lad's face was priceless. Eddy's courage in the face of adversity has been incred- ible, and I am so pleased I was able to help him have a day to remem- ber. "I also hope people will sign his father's petition asking the Govern- ment to give a higher priority to care for childhood cancer victims. "I have two boys of my own, and Eddy's bravery should bring home to every parent the indiscriminate nature of cancer - and why we must do everything we can to fight it."