Former England captain Wayne Rooney has named Roy Hodgson as his favorite international manager to play under, a revelation that coincides with the 78-year-old veteran's surprise return to the dugout as Bristol City's caretaker boss.
Hodgson led the Three Lions from 2012 to 2016, famously handing Rooney the captain's armband in 2014 following Steven Gerrard's retirement from international duty. Reconnecting ahead of Hodgson's recent Championship appointment, the duo reflected on their shared national team legacy on The Wayne Rooney Show.
"My best period from an individual basis with England was under Roy," Rooney revealed during the podcast.
The legendary striker admitted that the veteran manager possessed a fiery edge that initially caught him off guard.
"I thought he'd be quiet and then it might have been the first game or a half-time where he snapped and it took me back a little bit," Rooney added. "But my favourite period of playing for England was under Roy and I think because we had a trust as well with each other."
Hodgson’s sprawling managerial career spans nearly five decades, featuring high-profile stints with Inter Milan, Liverpool, and the Swiss national team. However, his England tenure met a devastating end with a shock elimination by Iceland in the last 16 of Euro 2016.
Reflecting on the infamous defeat, Hodgson admitted the outcome shattered his expectations for a squad brimming with emerging talent.
"It was a really bad moment," Hodgson explained. "It's extremely difficult because I had a quite strong belief that we would do well and I thought we would beat Iceland. I think the team in 2016 had the potential to do what the England team is doing now because there was a lot of young players coming through and you could see the potential of the young players."
The fallout from the Iceland loss was immediate, prompting Hodgson to resign during the post-match press conference. For Rooney, the atmosphere in the locker room that night remains a haunting career memory.
"I remember seeing the disappointment in Roy and I think we knew then that that was going to be the end of him," Rooney recalled. "I was also starting to think potentially this is the end of my own career as well. I think that moment in that dressing room after the game was the worst I've ever felt."