Family Owen

He also has two horses, Etienne Lady (named after the French town that Michael scored a goal against Argentina in the 98 World Cup) and Talk to Mojo (his family's initials).

Michael got his football talents from his father, Terry, who played for teams inclusing Cambridge United, Bradford City and Everton.

At age 7, Michael played for Mold Alexandra, scoring 34 goals in only 28 matches, with 9 goals in just one game.

He scored his first hat-trick playing for Mold Alexandra, on September 19, 1987.

At 8, he started playing for Deeside Primary School where he scored 97 goals in the season, beating Ian Rush's record of 72, in 1990.  He was the youngest player to play for Deeside.

Michael took boxing lessons when he was younger.

Michael attended Idsall High School but was then given the opportunity to attend the School of Excellence at Lilleshall.

Michael was chosen to play for England Schoolboys and during the 1995-96 season he scored 12 times, once again breaking records.

Michael first worked as a YTS Pro for Liverpool, but was offered a 3-year comtract after only 6 months.

 

He signed with Liverpool on his 17th birthday, in December 1996.

He made his debut for Liverpool versus Wimbledon on May 6, 1997, at the age of 17.  He scored making him the youngest player ever to score for Liverpool.

During the 1997-98 season, Michael became the joint top-scorer in the Premier League after getting 18 goals in 36 games.

Michael made history again when he became the youngest player in the century to play for England when he was 18 years and 59 days old, when England played a friendly against Chile on February 11, 1998.

In a game against Morocco, Michael became the youngest player ever to score for England on May 27, 1998.

Michael skyrocketed to world-wide fame after scoring against Argentina in the 98 World Cup on June 30, 1998 during the 16th minute of the game.  After this goal he was considered one of the best strikers in the world!

 

 FA Youth Cup Winners' medal, 1996

 Carling Player of the Year, 1998

 PFA Young Player of the Year, 1998

 BBC Player of the Year, 1998 

European Player of the Year, 2001

 

     

Michael scored 2 goals against Arsenal in 2001, to win the FA Cup Final.

 

 

LATEST NEWS:

Michael Owen and England fans are breathing a sigh of relief as an injury turned out to be bad bruising and not a broken foot.

Michael Owen was born on December 14, 1979 in Chester, England. The fourth of five children, he was raised in a tight-knit household by his parents, Jeanette and Terry. All the Owen kids were doted upon and encouraged to pursue diverse interests. The family lived in Hawarden, in the Welsh county of Clwyd. Terry, a central midfielder for Everton and Chester, was approaching the end of his soccer career when Michael came into the world. In 300 matches, he recorded a very respectable 70 goals.

Terry did not introduce Michael to soccer until the age of seven. Prior to that, he encouraged his son to work on his pugilistic talents at the Hawarden Boxing Club, believing they might help him look after himself later in life. Meanwhile, Terry spent hours playing soccer with his two eldest boys, Terry Jr. and Andrew, at a small field near the Owen home. But he soon realized that Michael was the most promising athlete in the family. Terry found a coach, Howard Roberts, to help develop Michael's considerable talents. Roberts, a local physical education teacher, managed the Mold Alexandra Under-10s.

Though Michael was only eight, Terry insisted that his son play regularly with the Under-10s. Roberts agreed, and sought to legalize Michael's position on Mold Alexandra. At the time, rules stipulated that children had to be at least eight to play in the league. Michael's small size led some to believe he was too young. Jeanette eventually wrote a letter attesting to her son's age and granting him permission to compete.

Michael flourished against his older and rougher competition. He finished his first season with 34 goals in 24 games, scoring nine in the first 20 minutes of one match before his coach called off the dogs and placed him in goal. Roberts often hesitated to put his star on the field against teams with bigger players, fearing the fate that awaited his undersized scorer. But whenever Michael got flattened or bullied, he laughed it off and continued on.

Given his nose for the goal, Michael typically played the center-forward (or striker) position. What impressed Roberts the most was his ability to run “off the ball." While his teammates would charge into the box cavalry style, Michael would delay his runs until the right moment, inevitably meeting the ball when it arrived from the cross. Also, his capacity to move with the ball at full speed sent defenses into disarray and opened up the pitch for others. Michael's pace, even at a young age, was breathtaking, and as he danced up the field he would often sprint 40 yards barely touching the ball, knowing just how far ahead to put it so that he didn't break his stride.

After one season with Mold Alexandria, Michael was invited to a tryout for the Under-11 team of Deeside primary schools. Already a minor celebrity, he and his goal-scoring feats had been great fodder for local newspapers. His fame increased further when he came under the tutelage of coach Dave Nickless. Playing for two different squads—Hawarden Rangers and St. David's Park—Michael terrorized defenses for two years. When he netted a hat trick at the 1980 Jersey Festival, he brought his career total to a record 97 goals.

By this time, Michael had become a student of the art of goal scoring. He was getting more and more clinical in his finishing technique, taking balls at fantastic speed yet never looking hurried. Unlike others his age, Michael thought his way around the field. Rather than blasting shots toward the goal and hoping for the best, he would put the ball in the corner of the net or side-foot it home, displaying a calm disposition and coolness under pressure normally associated with players three times his age.

Some of Michael's soccer sophistication came from his father. Terry constantly talked strategy with his son, and instilled in him a sense of professionalism that set the boy apart. Michael never showed up for a game or practice without the proper uniform. Nor did he ever utter a word of dissent to Nickless or his assistant, Ron Bishop. And despite being an acknowledged phenom, he was always popular with his teammates, who appreciated his ability to win matches without upstaging them.

Michael the Player

Michael's ball control and cultured finishing mark him as a soccer genius, someone who fulfills the adage that the game puts poetry into motion. And then there is the breathtaking way he has of accelerating past defenders. Indeed, it sometimes seems he's playing the game at a different speed.

While there have been moments in his career when he has faltered, he has never really ever failed to fulfill his immense potential. The moment when he turned away from the Argentine net to celebrate, kissing the embroidered Three Lions badge on his shirt before going over to the crazed English fans, will live large in the memory of all Brits who witnessed his brilliance on that night.

Michael is lauded by his fans as a representation of all that is good and right about the sport. As the European game becomes more and more consumed with money and talk of breakaway leagues and player restrictions, Michael has quietly gotten the job done with dignity and honor. In other words, the headlines he makes are the right kind of headlines.