Kevin Campbell’s incredible tale of the first time he encountered a young Wayne Rooney has gone viral as his former Everton teammate paid tribute to him.
The tragic death of Campbell, who had been battling serious illness, was confirmed on Saturday. The news sparked an outpouring of grief across the world of football and beyond.
The 54-year-old was a popular character on and off the pitch and his personality continued to endear him to people long after he hung up his boots.
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It is his wonderful character that comes through in the resurfaced video of him reflecting on seeing Rooney in action for the first time in a friendly against Southport. Speaking to the UndrTheCosh podcast, Campbell reflected: “I got on the coach and I saw this kid, ears out here and stuff, and I thought, this is the truth, I thought he was one of the coaching staff’s son or nephew or somebody… I didn’t know who he was, he was a baby. So we get to the ground, we get to the stadium, and he’s in the dressing room getting changed. I’m thinking, ‘what’s going on here, who is this?’ Taff [former reserve manager Andy Holden] just said, ‘he’s starting’.
‘I just looked at Andy, I said, ‘what the f***?!’ I said, ‘where is he playing?’ We’re playing against Southport, men. I said, ‘where does he play?’ He said, ‘he’s playing up front with you’. I said. ‘b*******”!’ He said, ‘Kev, treat him like you would a first team player’.
“So I’m warming up and that and I said, ‘he’s not got a bad touch on him’. He pings a few balls. I thought, ‘all right, okay, we’ll see’. The game has started, hat comes off, mate. At 14, I’d never seen anything like it, mate. Football brain, touch, power, pace. They were trying to hit him and they were just bouncing off him.
‘I was thinking, ‘what the f*** is this?’ He’s 14 years old. He’s bouncing non-league, big hairy-a*** centre halves, he’s bouncing them, twisting them up, playing one-twos. He scored two goals in the first half. He’s played a one-two, got the ball, he’s passed to me, I’ve put it in the space, he’s outpaced them, bang, bottom corner. I looked over at Taff. He went, ‘I told you!’ It was unbelievable – I couldn’t believe it.”
Campbell was subbed off in the second half and said he chose to sit and watch Rooney rather than get a shower. He said: “I got to watch this kid because of what I’m witnessing… They move him from striker to wide left. Spraying balls like you wouldn’t believe, attack, pace, power. I looked at Taff, Taff looked at me, and we both just shook our heads.”
Campbell scored 51 goals in 164 appearances – starting with the legendary spell in spring 1999 that saw him lift Everton to safety during a loan from Turkish side Trabzonspor. That paved the way for a permanent move and the winning goal in the Blues’ last win at Anfield in front of supporters. Rooney eventually joined him in the first team, proving Campbell’s assessment of his talent to be true. After the friendly he had told his senior team-mates Rooney’s talent was “f****** frightening”.
Rooney was among the many to pay tribute to Campbell on Saturday, sharing a picture of the pair celebrating and writing: “Absolutely devastated to hear the news about Kev. Thinking of all his family and friends. Kev was a great teammate but more importantly a brilliant person who helped me a lot in my earlier years.”