HE may not have crossed paths with Wayne Rooney since that fateful night at a packed Racecourse Ground in October 2002, but Paul Whitfield believes the England international has got plenty to thank him for.
Now a global megastar, Rooney first burst onto the scene as a teenage sensation at Everton, bagging his first senior goal after appearing as a second half substitute in a 3-0 victory at Wrexham in the second round of the Worthington Cup on October 1, 2002.
Then just 16, Rooney was the talk of the town, and indeed the whole of Britain, after scoring twice in the space of six minutes.
The rest is history, with Rooney an integral part of Manchester United’s recent success and the player fans hope can fire England to World Cup glory this summer.
And while that first senior goal at Wrexham is probably a distant blur for Rooney, the inexperienced Whitfield, making his senior debut at the age of 20 on that historic evening, will never forget it.
“My claim to fame is that I made Rooney the player he is!” said Whitfield. “That is what I always joke about with people.
“I gave Rooney the confidence to put it in the back of the net, and he whipped it into the top corner past David Seaman a couple of weeks later.”
Just 18 days after announcing his arrival at Wrexham, Rooney was at it again, becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history - a record that has since been surpassed twice - when he scored a stunning match-winning goal for Everton against Arsenal at Goodison Park just five days before his 17th birthday.
And that reaffirmed Whitfield’s belief that there was something special about Rooney even at that early stage of his career.
“I’d heard about Rooney in pre-season,” said Whitfield. “And he came on as a substitute when we played Everton in a friendly.
“Everton were renowned for young strikers coming through and Rooney was getting a lot of hype around him.
“Rooney took his two goals well in the cup game. We were pushing at 1-0 down in the last ten minutes but they were good finishes.
“One of the goals he put through my legs as I came sliding out. He didn’t try to dink it over me, nothing daft, he just slid it through my legs and you have got to be very talented to do something like that.
“To do something special at that age was something special, and then to do that to David Seaman - players like that are unbelievable.”
Transferred to Manchester United for £25.6million before the start of the 2004–05 season, Rooney has just enjoyed his most prolific season at Old Trafford, scoring 34 goals in all competitions, helping earn him the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
And Whitfield believes Rooney - now 24 - is up there with the best players in the world.
“Rooney has gone on to be a big star, definitely one of the top three players in the world at the moment, up there with Ronaldo and Lionel Messi,” said Whitfield.
“He has just got better, and they say outfield players do not hit their peak until the age of 27 or 28.
“Imagine what’s to come from him if he keeps improving.”
And Whitfield is tipping Rooney, who has scored 25 goals in 60 appearances for England, to continue his excellent form in South Africa.
“I hope so for him. He will be on the biggest stage in the World Cup,” said Whitfield.
“He broke his foot in the 2004 Euros, and went into the 2006 World Cup with an injury before he was sent off against Portugal.
“Rooney has always had an injury or something hanging over him but this time he is injury free and in the best form of his life.”
After being handed his chance against Everton, Whitfield went on to make 13 appearances in all competitions during the 2003-04 campaign.
Whitfield made a further five appearances the following season before he left Wrexham in the summer of 2004, and he has gone on to play for Buckley, Airbus, Rhyl, Cammell Laird, Llangefni and present club Llandudno, who operate in the Cymru Alliance.
While Rooney will dream of scoring the winner in the World Cup final, St-Asaph-born Whitfield’s aims are somewhat lower but the 28-year-old insists there are no regrets.
“Sometimes I think what might have been. It is everyone’s dream to play professional football and luckilly I did,” added Whitfield.
“I did not stay there but if I had another chance I would do it again. I loved every second of it, not just the playing for Wrexham.
“I am doing a bit of goalkeeper coaching and working to get my licences, as well as playing for Llandudno.
“They are my home-town club and progressing to hopefullty get into the Super 12.
“It is a great club, one of the few to get the UEFA approved licence, everything is going in the right direction.”