Michael Owen: ‘My motivation was to please Dad’

 It is almost every young boy’s dream as they’re growing up to become a professional footballer. We switch on the TV most evenings to see the game played in all its glory by athletes at the top of their profession. We get absorbed in the speed and skill of the players. As we get older and have children of our own, most of us dream that one day it will be our own son strutting their stuff.

There are millions of things that need to click for a budding young footballer to make it all the way to the top. If it was easy to make it, it wouldn’t be the great game that it is.

I often get asked for advice from aspiring young kids and their parents, but if I were to look back on my career and single out one thing that stood me in good stead, it would be the environment in which I grew up. Without that, I could never have become the player I was. Of course, there are many different pathways to the top and just because I made it doesn’t mean that following my path to the letter is the only way to do it. I have, however, seen hundreds of players with huge potential drop out of the game for a variety of reasons.

I am one of five children. My brothers and sisters were all lightning fast. It is a genetic trait that courses through my family. I was born lucky in that respect. Sadly, muscle injuries are another family trait. My dad suffered from them as a player, and my brothers and I have been plagued by them too. It is bad luck in many ways, but some would say it is the price you pay for being quick.

Reaching the top of your profession on your own is nigh on impossible. Doing it with the support of others gives you a small chance. Having the support of all your family, while being guided by a father like mine made it hard to fail. My dad, Leslie Terence Owen, was a professional footballer for 15 years, playing in the lower leagues for Bradford City, Chester City, Port Vale, Rochdale and Cambridge United. He is the person more than anyone else whom I credit for moulding me into the man I am. From the minute Dad witnessed something about me that was different, he created an unwritten set of rules, an unbreakable bond and an understanding between us that hardly required a word to be spoken.

One of the most important roles of any parent is to create an environment in which their children can flourish. My parents did just that. At an early age I was showing ability. At six, I was too young to join a football club so Dad took me to a mini-club where I’d mix it with other kids. He recalls that I used to loiter around the goal waiting for a chance and, when it arrived, I would side foot it into the corner. Not once, he says, did I ever lash at a ball in front of goal as a kid. It was always a calm finish, focused on accuracy. At this point, I was showing signs of having a natural ability to play football and score goals.