‘I always wanted to kick Peter Schmeichel – but my Man Utd rage got me sent off’
Michael Owen wasn't known for having a temper, but a hot-headed altercation with Peter Schmeichel led to the one and only red card of his career.
The ex-England striker burst onto the scene with Liverpool in 1997, shortly before announcing himself to the world at France '98. Within the walls of Liverpool's youth academy, hatred of Manchester United was commonplace, and Owen was no different.
On his first trip to Old Trafford, the youngster was determined to take Sir Alex Ferguson's side down a peg or two, especially since they'd beaten Liverpool at Anfield four months prior. With just seconds on the clock, he tested Schmeichel's mettle by leaving a foot in while stretching for a loose ball, and took things up a notch by lunging dangerously at the big Dane as he cleared another ball minutes later.
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The challenge earned him a yellow card, but rather calm him down, the caution seemed to light a fire under the 18-year-old. "I remember being in a daze before that game," Owen told the Daily Mail. "I always wanted to kick Peter Schmeichel for some reason! I got half a chance and missed him, but I got a yellow card."
United took the lead through Ronny Jonsen, but Owen equalised just before half time, and did so in typical Owen fashion. He snapped onto a flick-on, outpaced his marker and dinked the ball over Schmeichel. It was the stuff of dreams, but it soon turned into a bit of a nightmare.
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With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Owen cranked up the recklessness and an ill-timed challenge on Jonsen saw him pick up a second yellow. It came just three minutes after his goal, and left Liverpool with a mountain to climb.
"I went in late on Ronny Jonsen, a really bad tackle and got sent off," the now 43-year-old recalled. "Of the whole part of the day, the bit I remember most was being in the shower and being a little bit emotional, thinking I had let everyone down, even though I'd just scored.
"After five minutes sat there on my own I felt almost as if my shoulders just dropped and I felt as if I'd just come back to life. I'd built myself up so much just to play and win and score and kick everyone and score as much as I could that I was just in a real trance, in a way. I just remember falling back down to earth and thinking: 'That's not a state of mind you want to ever be in again'."
Luckily for Owen, his team-mates held on and secured a 1-1 draw, but the young striker was determined not to let himself of the hook. "I think I changed after that," he said. "It was the only time I got sent off in my professional career and it made me realise that in these big games you need fire in your belly but ice cold in your brain. It was a big turning point for me.
"When the fans are there, you're the one that has to stay in control. It's all right for a fan to scream his head off but as a player you have that fan mentality inside you but you have to curtail those frustrations and years of hurt."
Owen stayed supremely disciplined throughout his career, averaging roughly one yellow card every one-and-a-half seasons. He left Liverpool in 2004, with 158 goals and a Ballon d'Or under his belt, and joined Real Madrid. He returned to England a year later however and signed for Newcastle, before sealing a shock move to Man United in 2009.
He recently opened about wanting to re-join Liverpool, both after leaving Madrid and when his contract expired at Newcastle, but the Reds never contacted him. His reputation on Merseyside was sullied by his Old Trafford switch, but Owen insists fans shouldn't hold it against him.
"I've got no resentment whatsoever [about Liverpool not re-signing him]. But I don't expect resentment the other way because the first port of call was to go back to the club I loved," Owen said on the Up Front With Simon Jordan podcast. "After that when Liverpool say no, what do you want me to do?
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"I'll tell you what my options were. They were Hull City, Everton and Manchester United. They were the three teams that came in in the Premier League," he revealed. "With all due respect Hull were in a relegation scrap… and now I'm thinking, 'Everton, I'm going to get [hammered by Liverpool fans]. I was a boyhood Everton fan, but I'm going to be hated now. I've got no option. I can't do anything."
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