'I would love to see either Messi or Ronaldo win the Cup'

From being a prodigious talent, learning his trade on the streets of Croxteth area of Liverpool, Wayne Rooney has travelled the whole spectrum of the game with emotion and effervescence. His frenetic pace and taste for the spectacular are part of Old Trafford folklore. Long gone are those flamboyant days but Rooney is still very much part of the game, as he chose coaching after hanging up his boots. Ready for his first trip to India, Rooney talks exclusively with TOI at length about the World Cup starting on Sunday. Excerpts…

- Saumyajit Basu

It is a mid-season World Cup. Please share your thoughts on this.

Yeah, I think it’s strange to have the World Cup in the winter. And all the managers probably would want time to prepare with the players. It seems strange to play the Premier League game a week ago and then the World Cup starts on Sunday. I don’t think the players will be fit but they must be ready for the World Cup. It’s just something different to what we’re used to.

You said the players will be ready. Weather-wise, how will it affect a player? 

Maybe to a certain extent. But I think the players now are used to playing in all different types of climates. You see teams travelling to Champions League games where they’re going from one extreme to the other. It will have an effect, but maybe not as much as everyone thinks. I don’t think it will be a major issue to be honest.

Can you share your thoughts on England? After reaching semifinals in Russia and finals of Euro, is this the best time, place, opportunity for England to bring the cup home?

I think it’s a good opportunity. Any tournament that England play, we’re hoping we can win it. It’s obviously going to be a difficult tournament in Qatar for anyone to win. I think we’ve got a favourable group. We should go through the group stages and then obviously you need a bit of luck in the knockout stages. With a bit of luck, of course, they’re capable of winning the World Cup. It is a good enough team led by a good manager. Brazil are looking like a very good squad. Argentina too have had a successful run. Obviously, France and Belgium or Germany are right up there. The team that finds that consistency throughout the tournament will win.