Wayne Rooney had the luxury of working with some tremendous managers in his time as a player, now he’s named the best tactically.
In his career at Manchester United, Wayne Rooney saw it all both highs and lows on his way to becoming a legend for the club.
From the euphoric highs which he was a massive part of under Sir Alex Ferguson to the lowest point of finishing seventh under David Moyes.
He also played crucial roles for both Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho as captain of the football club.
So when discussing who the best he’d worked with was, he had quite the selection pool to pick from.
Wayne Rooney snubs Manchester United great Sir Alex Ferguson in best manager talk
Speaking on Stick to the Football with fellow United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane, Rooney was discussing Van Gaal in he chose the Dutchman ahead of Sir Alex as the most tactical boss he ever had.
“I remember Louis van Gaal when he came in – I thought tactically he was the best I’ve worked with. It was the stuff off the pitch that was difficult for the players in how he worked,” Rooney explained.
He then continued to claim that Van Gaal was a visionary in how he wanted his striker to play, with Erling Haaland’s current role replicating it.
“But I remember him coming in and saying he wants his centre forward to have 15, 20 touches a game – that’s exactly what Haaland does. I always wanted to play and enjoy the game – and score goals.”
He has always been fond of Louis Van Gaal
This isn’t the first time Rooney has picked Van Gaal ahead of Sir Alex in his rankings.
In 2019, Rooney told The Mirror, “Van Gaal is by far the best coach I have worked with – one hundred per cent.
“His tactical skills, his way of preparing and his attention to the finest of details, I found amazing. I admired that in him. I had never looked at stuff like that before.”
Van Gaal’s impact had a large effect on Rooney and impressed him to a tremendous degree with the 38-year-old likely basing a lot of his coaching game off the great Van Gaal.