Michael Owen

His youthful enthusiasm, talent and pace made him a popular football player across the world. He deserves it.

Michael James Owen (born December 14, 1979, in Chester, Cheshire) is an English football player currently with Newcastle United. He has also played for Liverpool (1996–2004) and Real Madrid (2004-05). He plays as a striker and has enjoyed a hugely successful and high-profile career at both club and international level and was the European Footballer of the Year in 2001. Owen is currently England's 4th highest scorer of all time, with 37 goals in 82 games for his country, with him being England's leading competitive goalscorer on 23 goals.
Pace and clinical finishing were Owen's greatest assets early in his career, though some consider he has since lost some pace due to injuries. Owen has recently returned from a year and a half of recurrent injuries sustained since December 2005.
When Owen was only seven his father, Terry, persuaded the manager of Mold Alexandra to let Michael into his team of ten-year-olds. Michael was quite a bit younger than most, and very much smaller, but he was soon showing off his "flair" and started in most games becoming known as the club's 'secret weapon'. He also played for his primary school team in Hawarden, Wales, breaking all local scoring records in his first season. He then attended Hawarden High School, where he also played for the school team.
His records and ability attracted much attention from top English teams, but as a Junior School boy, the school had the final say and it was a policy not to allow pupils to sign contracts at such a young age.
Owen met Welsh born Louise Bonsall at primary school in 1984. Bonsall originally trained as a solicitor, but stopped when she became pregnant with their first child and Owen moved to Real Madrid. They became parents on 1 May 2003 when their daughter, Gemma Rose Owen, was born. In February 2006, they welcomed a son named James Michael. The couple are expecting their third child in the fall.
The couple bought Lower Soughton Manor in Flintshire, North Wales where Owen keeps his cars and Louise her horses. They got engaged on 14 February 2004, and married on 24 June 2005, at the Carden Park Hotel in Wales. The couple had initially planned to get married at their home, but changed plans when they were informed that if a licence was granted for a marriage ceremony the venue must be made available for other weddings for three years, so opted to marry in a registry office in informal clothing and have a lavish reception the next day in the grounds of their home. The couple's son, James Michael Owen, was born on 6 February 2006, and Louise is currently pregnant with the couple's third child, due in December 2007.
After Owen returned to the UK to play for Newcastle United, he would travel to the nearby BAe facility to travel daily to the Northeast by helicopter to train. However, there is now a helipad installed in the grounds of the house to accommodate Owen's Eurocopter Dauphin on which he is both travelling and training to become a pilot. Owen was eventually banned from training to be a pilot by Newcastle United, due to excessive insurance premiums.
Owen also bought an entire street for his extended family (Austen Close, Ewloe), which is in an area close to where he used to live. In 2004, Owen's sister Karen was assaulted by two youths, who attempted to kidnap her. When she revealed that she was pregnant, they fled.
Owen has few personal indulgences unlike other footballers, but enjoys horse racing and gambling, in which his England colleague Wayne Rooney ran up a debt of £750,000 with Owen's business partner Steven Smith.

Newcastle
14 December 1979
Source: Wikipedia