Wayne Rooney says he cannot wait to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for Everton in Europe in Thursday's Europa League tie against MFK Ruzomberok.
Rooney won the Uefa Champions League and Europa League during his trophy-filled spell with Manchester United, but the visit of Slovakian side Ruzomberok to Goodison Park will still rank as one of the more memorable moments of the 31-year-old forward's glittering career.
Rooney, who left Everton to join United in 2004, is a life-long fan of the Merseyside club and his move back to Goodison Park earlier in the close-season will allow him to live out his ambition of wearing the Toffees' blue shirt in continental competition.
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It may only be a Europa League third-round qualifier, but Rooney is relishing his first competitive home match as an Everton player for 13 years.
"Something I always wanted to do was play in Europe with Everton," Rooney said. "I was a bit disappointed not to do that before but now I'll have a chance. Obviously I won the trophy last year so I'm hoping as a club we can go far and, you never know, try to win it. It would be even better.
"The first game back will be an emotional day for me and I'm looking forward to it. Overall, I'm looking forward to the season, hopefully getting back playing regularly and trying to help this club move forward."
Rooney briefly returned to Goodison for Duncan Ferguson's testimonial in 2015 but his last appearance on his "home" ground for Everton was against Bolton Wanderers in May 2004.
"You always get that feeling when you're walking out the tunnel so to actually do it again in an Everton shirt will be a special moment for me," Rooney added.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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