FOOTBALL NEWS

“It was fantastic to captain the team. We’d love to win the Champions League this season, or at least go one step further than last year and reach the final.”

- Wayne Rooney

12/12/2007 21:01, Report by Ben Hibbs and Gemma Thompson

Rooney loves captain role

Wayne Rooney revelled in captaining United in the 1-1 draw with AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, and now the Reds striker is desperate for the Reds to reach the Champions League final.

A young United side led by Rooney protected the Reds unbeaten record in Group F, which prompted the stand-in skipper to suggest a place in the final in Moscow in May is achievable.

“It was fantastic to captain the team, and I think it was a good result and a good performance,” said the 22-year-old, who completed 70 minutes and looks sharp in time for the visit to Anfield this weekend.

United’s Champions League ambitions are now on hold until late February when the knockout matches kick in, but Rooney is unambiguous in his aims. “We’d love to win the Champions League this season," he said. "Hopefully we can go one step further than last year and reach the final.”

The United front man was impressed with the performance in Rome, particularly from the young players. “It’s a great experience for them to get Champions League football under their belts,” he said. “I'm sure it will have helped them a lot. Pique, Evans and Simmo did really well. They have great ability and bright futures ahead.

“As a team I thought we did very well and got off to a great start, putting them under a lot of pressure. Gerard Pique scored a great goal and we had a couple of chances in the second half to win it. We kept going after they scored and in the end a draw was probably