A natural striker and superb finisher, Michael Owen shot to fame at the 1998 World Cup where he became the youngest player to represent the Three Lions at 18 in over 100 years.
His blistering run through the Argentinian defence and superb finish made the youngster a household name around the world. England went on to lose the ill tempered match on penalties after David Beckham was red carded for a kick out at Diego Simeone but on that day a star was born. Owen quickly became an international star, renowned for his speed and killer instinct in front of goal.
Wonder boy
Son of Terry Owen, who was also a professional footballer - having played for Chester City and Everton - born on December 14, 1979, Owen was the child goal-machine in North Wales who went on to achieve at all levels of the game.
He was introduced to football at the age of seven by his father, who saw Michael as the most promising athlete in the family. At eight, Owen was selected for the Deeside Area Primary School's Under-11 team and by the age of ten, some of the nation's leading scouts were monitoring his progress.
At nine he was captain and at ten he had smashed Ian Rush's twenty-year record for the same team by scoring a record breaking 97 goals in a single season, improving on Rush's record by 25 goals
The child prodigy turned out for the youth team of Mold Alexandra, playing with the under-10s at the age of eight after a local physical education teacher, Howard Roberts, persuaded the league to allow an under-age player.
At 12-years-old, after starting to attend high school, Owen became eligible to sign a schoolboy contract with a club. The first major club to spot him playing for Deeside was Liverpool.
Throughout this time, Owen continued his studies and achieved ten GCSEs. But despite the academic success, Owen was adamant his future was as a professional footballer, and after showing plenty of promise as a youngster, it was at Liverpool where he felt most at home.
He progressed through the ranks with Steven Gerrard, following the well trodden path of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Dominic Matteo and Jamie Carragher.
Seven remarkable Owen moments
1. FA Cup 1995-96
Owen exploded onto the first-team scene as a 17-year-old and left Liverpool with a ratio of a goal every two games and an FA Cup final named after him.
In the 1995/96 season Owen played a prominent role in the Liverpool's FA Youth Cup win, scoring 11 goals in just five games, including hat-tricks against Manchester United in the quarter-finals, Crystal Palace in the semi-finals and a single strike in the final as the Reds came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 against a West Ham team that were unbeaten in 24 games. West Ham's unbeaten run had much to do with future stars like Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard.
2. Liverpool debut
Roy Evans gave Owen his first senior appearance for the Reds in an away match against Wimbledon, in the penultimate game of the 1996/97 season, aged 17. He had been on the pitch less than 20 minutes when he scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 defeat.
3. Goal v Argentina, World Cup 1998
Arguably the moment Owen will be remembered for more than any other. Following a fantastic season in which he won the Premier League golden boot and the PFA Young Player of the Year, the, then, England international followed it up with one of the all-time great World Cup goals.
Taking the ball with a neat first touch on the half way line, Owen ghosted-past one defender before racing beyond a second before fizzing a delightful strike into the top corner of the net - an unexpected but remarkable goal. England were subsequently knocked out on penalties, yet again.
4. FA Cup final v Arsenal
Liverpool and Arsene Wenger's side were disputing the 2001 FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the first to be held outside of England, and Freddie Ljungberg put the Gunners ahead with less than 20 minutes to go.
However, with seven minutes left, Owen pounced from a corner to volley home past international team-mate David Seaman. And with the game heading towards extra time, Owen chased a long ball, outstripping Lee Dixon for pace and holding off a challenge from centre-back Tony Adams before powering an effort past Seaman into the bottom corner to complete a famous turnaround in a treble-winning season for the Reds.
5. Hat-trick against Germany
On 1 September 2001 Germany met England during the qualifying stages of the 2002 World Cup, at the Olympiastadion in Munich. With Owen arguably at the peak of his form, he helped guide his country to one of their finest wins in the modern era, a 5-1 away win over their long-time rivals.
Owen cancelled out an opening goal from Carsten Jancker, scoring a volleyed equaliser before Steven Gerrard put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half-time. And with three minutes gone in the second half, Owen extended the lead with another shot on the bounce, as Oliver Kahn was unable to keep his effort out.
15 minutes later, Owen completed a hat-trick by running through on goal and finishing calmly. The striker had scored his third of the game with only five touches of the ball.
6. Ballon d'Or winner 2001
Owen became only the fourth English player to win the European footballer of the year award, after a successful year with Liverpool and goalscoring exploits with England.
The English striker finished in front of future Real Madrid team-mate Raul in the running.
7. Manchester derby, 2009
After leaving Newcastle for Manchester United, Owen was met with much scepticism at Old Trafford, but that only lasted until a derby match against United's nouveau riche rivals City.
Owen endeared himself to the Red Devils' fans with a 97th minute winner. He concluded his own cameo performance with a goal that settled a contest which even Ferguson considered, later, as the greatest Manchester derby in history.
Owen again demonstrated his ability to score big goals in big games with a finish Ferguson declared 'world class'.
Success at Anfield
Throughout his seven years playing for Liverpool, Owen guaranteed league goals in the double figures.
He concluded the 1997-98 campaign with 23 goals from 44 matches in all competitions, despite his tender age.
He added another 24 to his personal tally during the landmark treble-winning season of 2000-01, including an iconic brace against Roma in a UEFA Cup tie at the Stadio Olimpico. And in both 2001-02 and 2002-03 Owen hit the target 28 times, his personal best for a single season at Anfield, including a goal in the League Cup final triumph over Manchester United.
Thanks to Owen's crucial strikes the Reds secured a place in the Champions League elite at the close of 2003-04, as Gerard Houllier handed the managerial reins over to Rafael Benitez.
La Liga and Man. United years
In 2004, and after notching 158 times in a Liverpool shirt during his seven seasons at the club, Michael Owen departed Anfield for Real Madrid.
He impressed with goals-to-games ratio in his one season in La Liga, but failed to secure a regular place in the first team, moving to Newcaste for a club record £16m, in August 2005.
Owen was plagued by a string of injuries at St. James' Park, and his time on Tyneside was marked more by frustration than goalscoring exploits. He eventually decided to cut his losses and left the club at the end of his contract in 2009, moving to Old Trafford.
The English striker was used mainly as a substitute in his first season at Manchester United, but he endeared himself to United fans by scoring a dramatic winner in the 4-3 derby victory against neighbour rivals Manchester City.
Owen also scored a memorable Champions League hat-trick against Wolfsburg and United's equaliser in the League Cup final before injury at Wembley ruled him out for the season.
A similar story took place in he 2010-11 campaign, but nonetheless United handed the striker a new one-year deal towards the the end of the campaign.
However, on 2 November 2011, Owen, who had started in United's home Champions League group stage match against Otelul Galati, was substituted early in the first half when he pulled up with a thigh injury. This as he last appearance for the Red Devils.
On May 17, 2012, Owen announced, via his Twitter account that Manchester United would not be offering him a new deal, ending his three-year association with the club.
Final season - retirement
At 32-years-old, Owen was signed by Stoke City, on a one-year deal, and was handed the number 10 shirt from the departed Ricardo Fuller.
He scored his first goal for Stoke on 19 January 2013, in a 3–1 defeat at Swansea City, his first goal since 25 October 2011. In doing so he became only the seventh player to reach 150 Premier League goals.
Nevertheless, Owen was restricted to just eight Premier League appearances for Stoke and made his final appearance on 19 May 2013 against Southampton, where he received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters. That same day Owen announced that he would retire from playing at the end of the 2012–13 season.
"It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire."
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