Sven had no doubts

The striker opened his account for Real Madrid on Tuesday night, showing the kind of form that he displayed with England last week when, as stand-in Captain, he scored the goal that secured all three World Cup qualification points in Azerbaijan.

Michael’s typically predatory 35th-minute strike against Dynamo Kiev made it a highly satisfactory six days for the former Liverpool marksman.

"I was thinking about going to the game actually," Sven revealed to this website. "But the indication I was getting was that he might not start. So it was very good to see him play and score.

"It was an absolutely typical goal for him to score. He was quick, made a good run and finished cleverly.

"I must say that I wasn’t really surprised though. Last week in training and in the matches he was as fit and lively as I’ve seen him for a long time. He did well for us in both matches and in the practice sessions you could see at once that he was very fresh and very hungry to play.

"He’s in good shape and his goal was very important for both him and for Real of course.

"Whenever people doubt him, they should just pick up a record book and see what he has done. The figures show everything. At 24 he still has a great career ahead of him."

Sven is now hoping that this will just be the start of a bundle of goals for Michael, who will, injury permitting, be playing at his home Bernabeu Stadium for England against Spain next month.

"He is a striker, so this goal will mean confidence," says Sven. "When strikers score an important goal as this one was, their confidence goes up immediately."

It’s obvious that Sven is pleased for his striker, so has he spoken to him personally yet?

"I haven’t spoken to him today but I might call him later."

Note to Sven: "Well done" in Spanish is bien hecho!

Michael Owen Factfile
Nationality: England (65 caps, 28 goals)
Date of Birth: 14 December 1979 
Place of Birth: Chester
Height: 5' 8''
Weight: 10 13 

Statistics refer to league appearances/goals only