Soon, Wayne Rooney, a qualified UEFA coach

London, Sep 28(ANI): Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will soon join the long list of Premier League footballers, including team-mates Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand, to do a course for becoming a UEFA-qualified coach.

Though Van der Sar would touch 40 next year, and Scholes and Ferdinand in their thirties, 23-year-old Rooney's intent at the peak of his career has come as a surprise to many.

United's players often take coaching clinics at local schools as part of their sponsorship deals, and Rooney has enjoyed the experience so much that he decided to take the role more seriously in order to give something back to the game that he loves.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Rooney, who has more than a decade of top-level football in him, is passionate about the game and feels that coaching would be a good platform for Rooney to channelize his energy.

"The thing that strikes you about Rooney is that he is absolutely football mad. He loves training so much that you have to drag him off the pitch. He even plays in goal," The Mirror quoted Ferguson, as saying.

"Sometimes I think I'm going to have to sit on him to stop him playing too much," he added. (ANI)