Michael Owen's decision to abandon the Bernabeu and return to the Premier League with Newcastle United was made last week after a telephone call to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The 2001 European Footballer of the Year wanted assurances from the Swede that his status as England's first-choice striker approaching World Cup year was not in doubt after a frustrating first season at Real Madrid.

"He is worried about his club football but even more worried about his international place in World Cup year," Eriksson told reporters.

"Michael Owen is 25, a golden age for him, and of course he wants to play in the World Cup.

"If he plays as many games as he did last season I will pick him, but if he never plays it's a tricky one."

With the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany less than a year away, Owen's footballing future had reached a crossroad.

He could either stay and fight for a place at Real, where he had been pushed even further down the pecking order with the arrival of Brazilians Robinho and Julio Baptista, or seek a return to his homeland and the lure of regular first-team football.

Newcastle were the first to offer Owen a return ticket, agreeing to fork over a club record fee of more than 15 million pounds (US$27.11 million) with Real. But the Chester-born forward appeared set on a return to Liverpool, where he scored 158 goals in 297 matches before joining Real.

Despite no official bid and protestations from coach Rafa Benitez that he did not need to sign another striker, backroom wheels were beginning to turn.

Newcastle's woes

The striker held talks with Liverpool and Newcastle over the weekend. But with the European champions seemingly reluctant to match Newcastle's bid, Owen's hands were tied. A move to the banks of the Tyne and not the Mersey was the only option.

Often described as the "sleeping giant" of British football, Newcastle have not won a domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup and the club's huge fan base have become increasingly frustrated at their lack of success.

The reality facing Owen at St James' Park makes unhappy reading.

The only club in British professional football not to score a goal this season, Newcastle have only north-east rivals Sunderland below them after taking just one point from their opening four matches.

European football has already come and gone. Newcastle are failing in their bid to secure a UEFA Cup place after losing to Deportivo Coruna in the final round of the Intertoto Cup.

One year after Bobby Robson was sacked as manager, his replacement Graeme Souness finds himself the bookmakers' favourite to become the season's first managerial casualty in the top-flight.

The signings of Owen and Spanish forward Albert Luque, who joined last week from Deportivo, at least take the pressure off Alan Shearer. Shearer is England's former captain who put his retirement on hold to play another season.

The irony is that, in re-uniting Owen with Shearer, Newcastle have created a strike partnership that never fully gelled at international level.

Source: China Daily