I:~EXCLUSIVE: MICHAEL OWEN ON FRANCE '98 AND THAT SHOT~

-It is a goal that will be talked about for years to come. 
 The best of the World Cup so far, and some have gone so far 
 as to call it the greatest World Cup goal ever.
 
 But last night Michael Owen revealed that the sensational goal
 he scored in Tuesday's match against Argentina, which had
 fans across the country on the edge of their seats, was not
 his greatest ever.

 "It was my most important goal, but I scored a better goal 
 when I was playing for England's schoolboys," he said modestly

 Back in the comfort of his Hawarden home after playing a 9-
 hole round of golf with hsi father, Michael splke exclusively 
 to the Daily Post about his mixed feelings about being back 
 home.

 "I am obviously delighted to be home and able to relax but I
 would prefer it if I was still out there."

 Asked about how he felt about all the attention he was 
 receiving at just 18, he simply said:"It's great."

 And he appeared to be taking all the attention in his stride.
 As teenagers and toddlers with their mothers gathered in the
 driveway of the family home, he greeted them with a smiling
 face and signed pictures of himself for them.

 Michael is obviously now trying to get his life back in to 
 some sort of routine, as fans descended on his home, his 
 girlfriend Louise Bonsall was seen to drive off in her VW 
 Golf to take the pet dog, Bomber, for a walk in the woods.

 Michael is now planning to go abroad with his family and 
 Louise in an attempt to escape all of the media attention.

 "I just want to be able to relax away from the media," he 
 added.

 Yesterday he spent most of the day trying to keep out of the 
 media spotlight.

 He emerged from the detached family home with his father, 
 Terry, just before midday, smiling briefly to the camera 
 crews gathered outside.

 Dressed in a pale blue polo shirt and black trousers, he came
 out of his house with his golf clubs over his shoulders and
 mobile phone in his hand, before driving off in his R-
 registered blue BMW with his father by his side.

 The world soccer sensation relaxed on a nearby golf course,
 where he played a round of nine holes.

 Everything remained quiet in Cromwell Close where Michael 
 lives with his mother, Janette, father, two brothers and two 
 sisters.

 His England bag lay in the middle of the lounge floor and a 
 banner - presumably made by young fans was beneath the front 
 window. It simply read:"There is only one Michael Owen!"

 In the house across the road a small poster displaying the 
 same message could be seen.

 But ironically, in the front bedroom window of the house two
 doors away two Liverpool shirts were on display - McManaman's
 and Berger's - but there was no Michael Owen shirt.

 
 Anrew Jackson, who lives at the house, could not explain why
 an Owen shirt was not pinned in the window.

 RATHER sheepishly, he said: "I do not think I have ever seen 
 an Owen shirt to stick in the window. My son loves Michael. 
 He is his hero. He has got a shirt with Owen on the back and 
 plays for Hawarden Rangers, where Michael first started.

 "He thinks he is in now because he plays for the same club 
 as Michael did."

 Mr Jackson, whose son Tom is seven, moved in two doors away 
 from Michael, nine years ago. He added: "We do not see a great 
 deal of him. Michael seems very quiet and keeps himself to
 himself."

 Michael was chauffeur driven from Heathrow Airport after 
 flying from France by Concorde and arrived home just after 
 10:30pm on Wednesday.

 Still wearing his England tracksuit and carring a black 
 sports' bag, Michael, looking tanned but tired, smiled at the 
 crowd who had waited with bated breath to meet their hero.

 He said:"It is a shame we did not stay out there longer but it
 is nice to be home."

 After being welcomed home by his family he drove to see his
 girlfriend, Louise, who lives just a few roads away, before
 returning to spend his first evening back in the UK with his
 parents.




II:~FRANCE 98 CAN TURN OWEN INTO GLOBAL SUPERSTAR~

-Michael Owen is on the verge of fulfilling his childhood dreams
 as the greatest soccer show on earth finally kicks off later
 today.

 The last time England were at the World Cup, Owen was 10 year-
 old and pretending to be Gary Lineker in a Chester school 
 playground.

 And as he arrived in France for the chance to reach out for
 footballing glory, the Liverpool ace admitted it was still hard
 for him to take his meteoric rise all in.

 "When I was in the schoolyard I always wanted to be the best
 player, always wanted to go on and play for England in a World
 Cup, always hoped it would happen one day," said Owen.

 "But I never imagined it would happen to me now - and I'd be a
 liar if I said I had done."

                          Frightening

 "It's something every footballing kid wants to go through and
 for me to have it so young is a great opportunity."

 Eight years on from those schoolboy hopes during Italia 90, the
 reality is something else.

 "Gary Lineker was my hero then," he said."He scored 10 goals in 
 World Cup finals and that's such a hard thing to do.

 "I was in junior school then. It's a bit frightening to think
 that eight years on and I'm going to the World Cup. It's beyond
 my wildest dreams."

 Dreams he hopes do not turn into the bad nightmares he and the
 rest of the country felt on that infamous Turin night of Paul
 Gascoigne's tears and those spot-kick misses.

 "I remember the penalties against Germany and like everybody 
 else in the country I was gutted when we lost," he said.

 "It's not an easy thing to step up in the semi-finals of the 
 World Cup and take a penalty and the three who scored were
 very brave."

 "If I get the chance I'll hopefully put it away. It'd be a bad 
 thing for anybody to miss a penalty in those circumstances - I
 wouldn't want anybody to go through that."

 So far the story of Owen's dramatic rise has been one of sheer
 nervelessness.

 A debut goal for Liverpool, followed by 23 in his first full
 season, his electric pace and eye for a chance have leading
 Swiss coach Gilbert Gress predicting he will be the next world
 superstar and Italy boss Cesare Maldini picking him to light up
 the World Cup.

 Whether all that will be good enough for him to claim a starting
 place for England against Tunisia next Monday is another thing,
 with Teddy Sheringham apparently in pole position as Alan 
 Shearer's strike partner.

 But Owen is not settling for second best."The target for 
 everybody was to get into the 22 and now I'm in, the target has
 to be the starting 11," he said.