NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.24: Michael Owen
Years: 1997-2004
Appearances: 297
Goals: 158
Trophies: League Cup (2001, 2003), FA Cup (2001), UEFA Cup (2001), UEFA Super Cup (2001)
Michael Owen was a boy wonder for Liverpool who won the Ballon d’Or in his early 20s and delivered one of the great FA Cup final comebacks.
The striker was only 17 when he broke through from the youth ranks to debut for the Reds in May 1997 – and scored his first goal within 16 minutes.
At the time, he was the youngest player to net in Liverpool’s history.
Lightning-fast and a supreme finisher, he then supplied 23 goals across all competitions in the 1997-98 campaign, his first full term at senior level.
That impressive introduction for the club was the start of a stratospheric rise for Owen, whose reputation soared further when he thrived for England at the 1998 World Cup.
After returning to Anfield duties, he matched that tally of 23 goals in 1998-99, before injury issues temporarily halted his ascent.
He was back terrorising defences and goalkeepers during what would be an historic 2000-01 season for himself and Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool team.
Owen netted a personal-best 24 times as the Reds claimed a trophy treble of League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, alongside securing a return to Champions League football.
A decisive brace away at AS Roma in Europe was an individual highlight, though nothing compared to his impact in the FA Cup showpiece against Arsenal.
With Houllier’s men outplayed by their opponents and trailing 1-0 in Cardiff, Owen netted in minutes 83 and 88 to stun the Gunners, win the cup and have the final named after him.
You have to accept cookies in order to view this content on our site.
Watch on YouTube“It couldn’t have been any better, it was literally a moment you dream of all your life,” he said. “Whenever I look at my [medals], I look at that one and think, ‘That was the best day of my life.’”
The scale of Owen’s talent and achievement was recognised by a singular feat in LFC history at time of writing: being awarded the Ballon d’Or as Europe’s Footballer of the Year in 2001.
His goals output climbed to 28 in each of the two seasons that followed, and 19 strikes in 2003-04 took him past 150 with the Liver bird on his chest.
The Reds’ progress had plateaued, however, and as Houllier was replaced in the dugout by Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2004, Owen opted for a move to Real Madrid.
After a single season in Spain, he returned to English football but his stated wish to emulate Ian Rush and come back to Anfield failed to materialise in the years before his retirement.
- Get exclusive early access to the next players revealed on the Liverpool's Greatest list every day on the official LFC app: iOS | Google Play