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Cape Town - Before Wayne Rooney hangs up his boots, the decent thing would be for Buckingham Palace to invite over the Manchester United and England captain to give him a shiny medal.
Not, certainly not yet, make him a knight like Sir Bobby Charlton, the England and United legend whose scoring records Rooney has in his sights. But at least bestow upon him a lesser honor, say MBE — Member of the Order of the British Empire — like his Liverpool counterpart Steven Gerrard, or OBE — Officer of the Order of the British Empire — like Ryan Giggs, his former teammate now assistant to United manager Louis van Gaal.
Rooney deserves recognition not simply for his huge services to English football — 46 goals for England, just three shy of Charlton's mark, and a starring role in the Premier League's global conquest of football — but also because of his transformation into a model professional in these later stages of his career. The striker who made it abundantly clear in Alex Ferguson's final year as manager that he wasn't happy being played out of position in midfield, essentially putting his own interests before those of his team, has become Mr. Flexible and Accommodating under Van Gaal, no job too big or too small. And that is to his credit.
