‘He is by far the best I have worked with – one hundred per cent’: Wayne Rooney names Louis van Gaal as the greatest coach of his career, despite playing under Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello
- Wayne Rooney believes Louis van Gaal is the best manager he has played under
- The Dutchman managed Rooney during his two-year spell at Manchester United
- Rooney has been coached by some of football’s greatest bosses in his career
- Yet, Van Gaal’s tactical knowledge makes him stand out in Rooney’s opinion
Wayne Rooney has claimed Louis van Gaal is ‘by far the best coach I have worked with’ during his illustrious career, picking the Dutchman over Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello among others.
Van Gaal, who was appointed manager of the Red Devils in 2014 and led them back to the Champions League and to FA Cup glory, managed the former England captain during his two-year spell at Old Trafford.
Rooney has been coached by the likes of Sir Alex and Mourinho at Old Trafford and Capello with England but believes the Dutchman’s tactical nous puts him above the rest.
Wayne Rooney has claimed that Louis van Gaal is ‘by far the best coach I have worked with’
The former Manchester United star named the Dutchman over icon Sir Alex Ferguson (right)
He also snubbed former England boss and Italian great Fabio Capello in favour of Van Gaal
Rooney’s last coach at Old Trafford was Jose Mourinho, who struggled to get them playing well
‘Van Gaal is by far the best coach I have worked with – one hundred per cent,’ Rooney said, according to The Mirror.
‘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.’
Rooney admitted their relationship was not always joyous but vowed to take some of his experiences from Van Gaal into his own coaching career in the future.
He added: ‘Van Gaal knows that the way he works is tough for players. I made him aware of that at the time and we talked about this very well together.
‘I regret how it all ended, yet I know one thing for sure – I have learnt a lot from him and I am definitely going to use those lessons for when I am a manager.’
Rooney scored a sublime goal from inside his own half playing for DC United earlier this week
Rooney is still enjoying the twilight years of his career in Major League Soccer and scored a sublime goal for DC United earlier this week.
He admits he is keen to follow former England colleagues Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard into management one day but is not yet ready to hang up his boots.
The 33-year-old said: ‘It is great to see that Frank and Steve have been given these chances at big clubs. That gives me hope too because I do think about these things.
‘But for the time being, I am enjoying my life as footballer. I want to win more trophies. Physically, I feel good and I am still ambitious. But once my career is over, I am going to consider all the options.’
