RUUD VAN NISTELROOY has revealed he spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson before taking charge of his first game as interim Manchester United manager.
And it proved to have worked as United thrashed Leicester 5-2 in the Carabao Cup in the wake of Erik ten Hag’s sacking on Monday.
When the Red Devils play Tottenham in the quarter-finals in December, they will likely be led by Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.
Van Nistelrooy, who is set to face Chelsea on Sunday, unsurprisingly turned to his former boss Ferguson for advice before Leicester’s visit.
The pair fell out leading to Van Nistelrooy’s exit back in 2006 but have long since made up.
He said: “Yes I spoke to him, and he wished me luck. We talked about my situation and the team.
“Most of all he wished me luck. It is always great to speak to him.”
Van Nistelrooy, 48, was then asked if he ever thought he would be back at United in these circumstances after the way he left 18 years ago.
And the Dutchman replied: “No, at the time I wasn’t thinking about that, to manage.
“I left in 2006 for Real Madrid to perform and to play and to get the most out of yourself as a player.
5
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
“After that, I started to think about coaching. It was special to come back to the club and the city that I love.
“I enjoy it. I enjoy being around Manchester, the players and staff, although there’s not many still around.”
5
Van Nistelrooy’s explosive fallout with Fergie’s came after the striker was an unused substitute during United’s 4-0 League Cup final triumph over Wigan in 2006.
Tensions flared again when the Dutchman was left out of the squad for United’s 4-0 win over Charlton on the last game of the season.
He previously told the Overlap podcast: “I started pre-season but you knew he was moving on without me and putting the future of the club into other players so that was clear.”
Van Nistelrooy also revealed he called Ferguson to apologise, on the advice of his wife, in 2011 to patch things up.
Despite making 219 appearances for United and scoring 150 goals over five years, Van Nistelrooy admitted it was strange to find himself in the role Ferguson fulfilled when he was playing.
He told a press conference on Thursday: “My team talk, I’m standing in front of the team, telling them about what Manchester United is all about.
“What it is to play at Old Trafford, what songs are being sung by the fans and why.
“You try to transmit that lovely feeling of playing for this club. It’s a proud moment to do that and to share that with players.
“And what they were transmitting on the pitch and the way it interacted with the supporters towards me.
“It was unbelievable support and it only strengthens me to do the utmost, especially short-term, for Chelsea on Sunday.”
5
Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd
WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.
Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.
But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.
Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.
He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers.
The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.
And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.
Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.
Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.
United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”
And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.
For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.
