Michael Owen:' My motivation was to please Dad'

The golden boy of English football announced his retirement last week.

Here he explains how vital his father was in his rise to the top of the game.

We switch on the TV most evenings to see the game played in all its glory by athletes at the top of their profession.

We get absorbed in the speed and skill of the players.

As we get older and have children of our own, most of us dream that one day it will be our own son strutting their stuff.

There are millions of things that need to click for a budding young footballer to make it all the way to the top.

I often get asked for advice from aspiring young kids and their parents, but if I were to look back on my career and single out one thing that stood me in good stead, it would be the environment in which I grew up.

I often get asked for advice from aspiring young kids and their parents, but if I were to look back on my career and single out one thing that stood me in good stead, it would be the environment in which I grew up.

My dad suffered from them as a player, and my brothers and I have been plagued by them too.

My dad suffered from them as a player, and my brothers and I have been plagued by them too.

My dad, Leslie Terence Owen, was a professional footballer for 15 years, playing in the lower leagues for Bradford City, Chester City, Port Vale, Rochdale and Cambridge United.

From the minute Dad witnessed something about me that was different, he created an unwritten set of rules, an unbreakable bond and an understanding between us that hardly required a word to be spoken.

From the minute Dad witnessed something about me that was different, he created an unwritten set of rules, an unbreakable bond and an understanding between us that hardly required a word to be spoken.