Dream debut as Ben fires Wales toWorld Cup win
WHEN 17-year-old Ben Woodburn stepped on to the pitch on Saturday evening, he was just four minutes away from reigniting Wales’ World Cup hopes.
Hailed as the nation’s new superstar, Woodburn’s full international debut on September 2 will no doubt be remembered as a key moment in Welsh football history.
Minutes after coming on as a substitute, Woodburn scored a wonder strike just as the Welsh fans had finished belting out the national anthem.
Like every other supporter in red, Woodburn knew the enormity of the clash against Austria for Wales to get close to qualifying for the World Cup.
But, with the class and poise of a player far more experienced, Woodburn stepped up and scored the winning goal in the 1-0 victory, earning him a place in the hearts of Welsh fans and quickly securing reams of media attention.
He said in a post-match interview afterwards: “It’s a dream come true.
“The manager said to me before I went on to enjoy myself and help the team as best as I could, and hopefully I did that.”
Despite now being the subject of dozens of headlines, it hasn’t always been headline-grabbing stuff for Nottingham-born Woodburn.
For a few years of his life at least, he came from modest beginnings.
He attended Bishop Heber High School in Malpas, on the outskirts of Chester, but after joining the club’s youth teams at Under-7 level it was time to move on.
It was around then that he was snapped up by Liverpool’s academy after scouts picked him out.
A switch to the official Liverpool AFC Academy Education Centre at Rainhill High School beckoned, although Woodburn’s parents advised that he lived at home in Tattenhall rather than move away from home at a young age.
Usual protocol is for prodigious academy players to move in with house parents in Rainhill, close to the academy in Kirkby.
But the Woodburns wanted Ben to feel settled and the club agreed to arrange a personal driver to ship the schoolboy back and forth from the training ground to his Cheshire home every day.
Nine years later and Woodburn was making his first-team debut for the Reds in a pre-season friendly victory over Tranmere Rovers.
Flash forward a few months and Woodburn was breaking records in just his second competitive Liverpool appearance, after beating Michael Owen’s record as Liverpool’s youngest-ever goalscorer with a goal against Leeds.
Able to play in any position across the attacking midfield line, as well as further up the pitch, Woodburn’s versatility is as valued as his skill.
By 16, Woodburn was already being dubbed “the next Aaron Ramsey”.
His upbringing suggests more Owen or Steven Gerrard due to his Chester and Liverpool connections, but the 17-year-old is Welsh-qualified through his maternal grandfather and has played for Wales’ youth teams at every level.
When it became clear that Woodburn was something special, it did raise fears amongst Welsh fans that he might cross the border and end up playing for England.
Not a chance. There was no way, it seems, Woodburn would plump for the land of his birth.
He would later go on to captain the Wales Under-17 team against Greece in 2016 and feature in the Under-19s’ victory against England months later.
With so much potential clear to see, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp tried to keep Woodburn wrapped up in cotton wool to stop any prying eyes.
During one press conference last November, Klopp tried to cool any media hysteria about the teen sensation, saying: “I’m really happy for him, but the problem is I’m also a little bit afraid about you [the media].
“So, quiet please. Only write ‘goalscorer Ben Woodburn’.”
After his stellar effort against Austria, there’s little chance of that.