Former Manchester United and Everton star shone and scored his first goal for new club DC United in the MLS on Saturday.
Rooney also broke his nose in the encounter as DC United went on to defeat the Colorado Rapids 2-1.
Ironically it was an Everton legend and one of Rooney’s former team-mates at Manchester United- Time Howard, whom he beat to score his first MLS goal.
Kellyn Acosta eventually found an equalizer for the Rapids and the 39-year-old Howard managed to get some revenge over Rooney as he twice denied him.
Nici Jackson however scored an own goal during the 90th minute to give DC United a much needed win.
Despite the victory, Ben Olsen’s team remain rooted to the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference standings.
After the match, Rooney took to Twitter and said: “delighted to score my first goal for DC United”, adding that he had acquired “a broken nose and five stitches”.
The 32-year-old Rooney left Everton last month in order to continue his career in the MLS.
He retired from the England national team in 2017 after he was not assured regular first-team action under Gareth Southgate.
Moving to the MLS was perhaps the right thing to do at this stage for the veteran.
He has experienced trouble in his personal life during the past few years and living in the US will allow him to stay away from the public spot-light for a while.
Football or soccer as it is termed in the United States is still a developing game in the US and interestingly, most citizens of the country would probably not be able to recognize Rooney if they bump into him on the streets.
Being able to be out of the spot-light for a while and live like a normal person for a change also probably plays a big role in why many stars choose to see out the latter years of their careers in the US.
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