Wayne Rooney has branded Steven Gerrard ‘disrespectful’ for calling England’s golden generation ‘egotistical losers’.
Earlier this week, Gerrard blamed England’s failure to compete for silverware in the 2000s and early 2000s on a divided culture and said he ‘hated’ the atmosphere on international duty.
It comes as Thomas Tuchel tries to emphasise team spirit over star names, to the level of excluding Jude Bellingham from his squad, and it looked to have paid off in the 3-0 demolition of Wales on Thursday night.
Rooney and Gerrard played a combined 234 games for England but never reached a semi-final, while under Gareth Southgate the Three Lions reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.
‘Obviously, we didn’t win anything. I wouldn’t quite put it that [Gerrard’s] way but I know what he’s saying. There was a lot of big characters in the dressing room,’ Rooney told his BBC podcast.
‘I wouldn’t say [England squads now have a] better attitude. That’s disrespectful to us as players because we worked hard, we tried. We didn’t quite manage to do it.
Wayne Rooney has called Steven Gerrard’s dig at England’s golden generation ‘disrespectful’
Gerrard recently blasted the England side of the 200s and early 2010s as ‘egotistical losers’
Thomas Tuchel is aiming to prioritise the team spirit rather than big names as England boss
‘Even when you look back with the players we had could we have done better? We could have but it wasn’t to be.
‘What you have now is [rival teams’] players training [together] before they go back to pre-season together – Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford for instance.
‘It’s a different generation. The big thing is the media coverage of it is much better. The players get on better with the media. From the outside that gives a better feeling.
‘It [was] difficult to have that relationship with Liverpool and Man Utd players. It’s easier now.
‘I speak to Steven all the time 1760083810. You can have better relationships now because you can have a beer together and relax more.
‘I was fine with everyone, I got on with everyone. I was aware Becks [David Beckham] and Gary Neville and Scholesy [Paul Scholes], you could see they weren’t going to be close to the Liverpool players.
‘But one thing for sure is everyone worked hard for each other. I don’t think that was an issue. We just didn’t manage to get over the line. I didn’t see that at all.’
It was often a case of fine margins – England lost to Portugal on penalties twice and Italy once at tournaments between 2004 and 2012.
England failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals at a major tournament during Gerrard and Rooney’s international careers
Gerrard admitted the closeness between the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher now bothers him, as he questioned why the squad could not look past rivalries at the time
England were without some of their headline names against Wales, with Bellingham left out of the squad and Harry Kane on the bench.
Fresher faces such as Elliot Anderson – who received man of the match in his first two England games – Djed Spence, and Morgan Rogers were given runs out to good effect.
Tuchel’s side were 3-0 up inside 20 minutes thanks to goals from Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Bukayo Saka, with England showing a deadly mix of determination, intuition, and flair in working their advantage.
Marc Guehi did well to keep the ball in play and set up Rogers for his clever finish, Rogers found Watkins at the back post in a crowded box for the second, and Saka pulled off a stunning cut inside and finish.
Everything gelled in those first 20 minutes in a vision that England have not always been used to in frustrating tournaments down the years.
And summing up the golden generation’s failures to on Rio Ferdinand Presents, Gerrard said this week: ‘We were all egotistical losers.
‘I watch the telly now and I see Jamie Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years.
‘And I see Carragher’s relationship with Gary Neville and they look like they’ve been mates for 20 years. I’m probably more close and friendly with you [Ferdinand] now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years [for England].
England put on a united display as they thrashed Wales 3-0 at Wembley on Thursday night
The Liverpool legend admitted he is closer with former Man United star Ferdinand now than their playing days
‘So why didn’t we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry?
‘It was down to the culture within England. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good, strong team.
‘I hated it. I didn’t enjoy it. Hated the [hotel] rooms.
‘In my early days, I’d have days where I was down, like low down. Like I’m in this room for seven hours, what am I going to do?
‘There was no social media, we didn’t have a DVD player or anything. Channel 1 to 5 or whatever it was on TV. I used to get low and down.
‘I used to love the games. I used to love playing for England. I was really proud. I used to enjoy the training sessions but it was 90 minutes a day. And then I was just on my own.
‘I didn’t feel part of a team. I didn’t feel connected with my team-mates, with England.
‘I didn’t feel that with Liverpool. They were the best days of my life. I felt like the staff looked over me, like I felt special. I felt like I couldn’t wait to get there. With England, I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away.
