England Programme - buy online now

A series in England match programmes, TheFA.com ask England players to choose their heroes and explain why. Here we bring you this season's selection of stories and today we hear from Wayne Rooney.

When the world’s football fans first took notice of Paul Gascoigne, Rooney hadn’t even started school. But his style was inspired by the cheeky brilliance of Gazza at Euro 96, and the golden boy of this generation has never looked back.

A dream to watch, with close control and dribbling ability that makes defenders lose sleep. Explosive strength and pace, a scorer of truly beautiful goals for England and his club; a player with a childlike love for the game who never stops smiling.

Depending on which generation you belong to, one of two names will most likely come to mind. Both are fans’ favourites and extremely similar with a ball at their feet.

It is no surprise therefore that Wayne Rooney’s England Hero is the man he is most like, a player blessed with enormous talent, who has often carried a nation’s expectations.

Rooney plays like he grew up mimicking Paul Gascoigne on the streets of Liverpool, so it’s comforting to hear that is exactly what he did.

“I used to watch Gazza all the time, I loved watching him play,” Rooney admits with a nostalgic smile.

“You always watch the best players and try and do what they do when you go out on the streets, or when you play in games.”

When asked directly who is his England Hero, Rooney debates between two candidates.

“It would probably have to be Shearer or Gazza, one of the two,” he says aloud, before deciding on the midfielder who graced Goodison Park at the same time Rooney was lighting up The FA Youth Cup at just 16.

While most fans will have fond memories of Gazza’s performances at the World Cup in 1990, Rooney was not quite old enough to remember the tears shed against West Germany. “I didn’t get to watch Italia 90. I was only four at the time!” Rooney laughs as he looks back.

“Obviously I’ve seen all the games from that tournament since then, and I remember watching him score at Euro 96. He always stood out as the player who everyone was watching. Every time he got the ball, the crowd went mad.”