EXCLUSIVE: I'm excited about England again... this team is built on youth and pace, says Owen

Besides horseracing and punditry, Michael Owen is busy during his retirement sifting through dusty old boxes and bags of souvenirs to find the items most worthy of a frame on the wall of his home.

‘It’s a nice pastime,’ says Owen. Having hung up his boots at the end of last season, he is ordering the memories and creating a display, a permanent reminder of an extraordinary career.
‘I was never really one for having my house adorned with all my memorabilia. I had it all put away.

International bow: Owen's first England appearance came in a defeat against Chile in the build up to France '98

‘I never wanted to put them up while I was playing in case something miraculous happened and I won another FA Cup or something, but now I’ve finished and I’m getting them all together.
‘I know the number of caps and shirts and I’m framing the special ones. I’ve got a set number of frames and I’m going through in order, with my different debuts and the shirts from every cup final, England-Argentina in the World Cup and when I scored the winner for Manchester United against City.

‘About 15 definitely need to go in, and if there’s room for more I’ll decide what goes in. It’s bringing back good memories, like my England debut.’
That came in February 1998 against Chile, who return to Wembley on Friday for the first time since that night, when two goals from Marcelo Salas condemned Glenn Hoddle’s team to a 2-0 defeat.

Confident: The retired striker likes the look of the modern England team

Game changer: Owen became a star around the world when he scored one of England's best ever goals

Three days later the teenager scored a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw at Sheffield Wednesday, and when the season ended nobody had scored more than his 18 goals in the Premier League.

He scored six goals in Liverpool’s last 10 games, became England’s youngest ever scorer in a warm-up game against Morocco aged 18 years and 165 days — only Wayne Rooney has beaten this — and became a global star at France 98.
He also went home with the man-of-the-match award against Chile. It was a time when he could do no wrong.

‘I’ve still got the champagne in my cellar, gathering dust with all the other bottles,’ said Owen. ‘I was old enough to drink, only just, but you don’t drink those sorts of things.

All smiles: Owen remains busy in retirement

Clinical: Owen was consistently one of the most lethal finishers in the world

‘I kept them all. They’ve probably gone off, haven’t they?’

He was playing golf with his father when Liverpool assistant manager Doug Livermore called to tell him he was in the squad.

‘I was three-up when I took the call and ended up losing,’ he said. ‘Mobile phones were just out and I couldn’t stop calling people to tell them.


‘Almost as soon as I joined the squad, Glenn Hoddle told me I was making my debut and I spent the week mentally preparing myself for it. Dion Dublin made his debut in the same game. I think we played three up front.

Show of faith: Glenn Hoddle gave Owen his international debut

Consistent fixture: Owen began his England career alongside Dion Dublin (left) and finished it alongside Rooney

‘It was a wet night, midweek under floodlights at the old Wembley. I didn’t set pulses racing, Salas did his best to spoil it, but I got the man of the match so I must have done OK.
‘I felt part of it but it wasn’t a given I’d be going to the World Cup. Even in the weeks leading up to it, nobody was beating the drum for Michael Owen to be in the squad.

‘The rest of the season had gone well. I won the golden boot with Liverpool and scored my first England goal then played well in the pre-tournament warm-up games. It was only at that point that I felt like I was definitely going. There was a massive swell of opinion in my favour in the weeks leading up to it.’

There is often a late sprinter, a lightly capped player who makes the plane, like Owen in 1998 and Theo Walcott in 2006. These friendlies against Chile and Germany mark the start of the scramble to impress Roy Hodgson before Brazil. 

‘The team’s quite set,’ said Owen. ‘But there’s good fluidity. It’s not 4-4-2 like it’s always been and the manager seems to be starting to build teams around players and that’s refreshing.

Promise: England are moving in the right direction under Roy Hodgson

‘If someone breaks through but Roy feels like he can’t drop Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick or whoever, he seems open to shaping the team around those with the ability.
‘We seem to be building a system around players who can hurt teams. England have got pace in Daniel Sturridge and Andros Townsend, they have goals in Wayne Rooney and from midfield.

‘When I looked at the England team to play Montenegro last month it was the first time in ages I’d felt excited about what I was about to watch. 

‘We had youth and pace. We had goals, even from the so-called holding players in midfield with Gerrard and Lampard. The full-backs Kyle Walker and Leighton Baines were attacking players. And that’s how it proved.

‘I haven’t always enjoyed watching England. There are always flashes here and there but it feels frustrating most of the time. This was different.’

Talented: The combination of Daniel Sturridge (left) and Wayne Rooney is England's best since Owen's days

Rooney has Owen in his sights, two behind his total of 40 England goals, which will leave only Jimmy Greaves (44), Gary Lineker (48) and Sir Bobby Charlton (49) ahead of him.

‘He will certainly pass me,’ said Owen. ‘I don’t know if he can catch Sir Bobby but he has an excellent chance of beating the all-time record.
‘He’s still a first-choice player and I can’t see anyone coming through to challenge his position in the team for a few years.

‘You look at the usual factors. Can he steer clear of injury? He tends to be fit and available most of the time.
‘But it can come down to something as simple as a change of manager. That’s what did for me.’

Unimpressed: Former England manager Fabio Capello did not include Owen in his plans

Owen’s international career ended as abruptly as it started. Having fought back from the serious knee injury suffered in the 2006 World Cup, he scored three goals in two Euro qualifying wins inside five days against Israel and Russia at Wembley in September 2007. It took him to 40 England goals before his 28th birthday, a quicker rate than Rooney’s — he was 28 in October and has 38 goals.

Passing Charlton to become the country’s greatest ever goalscorer seemed inevitable but Owen would win only four more caps as Steve McClaren didn't always have him fit and Fabio Capello cut him off completely.

Capello picked Owen only once; his 89th and final cap came when he replaced Rooney as a half-time substitute in a friendly against France in Paris best remembered as David Beckham’s 100th cap.

‘You can have injuries and accidents but you never know what’s coming,’ said Owen. ‘There might be a new manager with a new system, where they’re playing with only one up front.

Clinical: Owen remained important for England throughout Steve McClaren's reign

The end: Capello selected Owen just once, against France, before cutting him from his plans

‘Injury didn’t put paid to my England career. I don’t think Fabio Capello came to Newcastle once to watch me play. As far as I know, he came to watch me play once, when we played Arsenal away. I was never going to see a lot of the ball in that one.
‘I played in that double-header against Russia — when I scored two — and Israel — when I scored — and within a few months I was out.
‘But there you go. We all have our sob stories.’
And they’re not for framing.

THE DEBUT THAT DIDN'T GO TO PLAN

Michael Owen made his debut in England’s last Wembley meeting with Chile but most eyes became fixed on Marcelo Salas.
He arrived in London in 1998 with a big reputation which he enhanced with two goals against England, including a sublime volley.

After a successful World Cup in France where he scored four goals in four games, the Chilean crossed the Atlantic to join Lazio for £12million.
There had been widespread doubts about Salas’s suitability for the European game before the Wembley match but one television analyst — a certain Roy Hodgson — said: ‘He’s a fantastic player. He’s worked hard and has taken an almighty kick from Tony Adams. 

‘He showed the character to get back on the field and score a great goal.’
Salas had attracted interest from Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Tottenham, but they balked at the price.
During seven years in Italy, Salas won nine trophies: six with Lazio and three with Juventus. He returned to South America and retired from football in 2009.