Wayne Rooney Names The Best Boss He Ever Played For

Wayne Rooney was coached by some of the most illustrious football managers during his playing career. The former player for the England national team has talked about his favorite manager, who he felt was ahead of the game’s strategies.

Rooney played at Manchester United for the majority of his career under Sir Alex Ferguson, where he made over 400 appearances and won five Premier League and Champions League championships.

After complaining about Man United’s inability to draw in the best players in the world, Rooney said last year that their relationship had soured as a result of the 2010 transfer request he made.

Rooney remained with Man United until the end of the 2016–17 campaign, during which time a number of managers found it difficult to meet Ferguson’s (who retired in 2013) expectations.

In addition, the all-time Man United record scorer played more than 100 games under David Moyes, who had previously managed him at Everton.

During Rooney’s club and international career, he was also coached by Steve McClaren, Roy Hodgson, Sven-Goran Eriksson, Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, and Sam Allardyce.

However, when asked about this, Rooney failed to mention Sir Alex Ferguson as his preferred tactical coach. He asserted that Louis van Gaal was far superior in terms of football strategy. He played under the Dutch coach for two seasons at Manchester United, where the Red Devils finished fourth and fifth, and he said the coach was excellent.

While Rooney highlighted Ferguson as his best all-around manager, he described Van Gaal’s approach as very extraordinary.

‘The best I have worked under was Louis van Gaal, that might sound strange. Alex Ferguson knew exactly what he was doing and was a genius at what he did, but tactically Louis van Gaal was streets ahead of anyone I have worked with’, he said on the Wayne Rooney Show.

‘I am talking tactically, Alex Ferguson was the best all round but tactically Louis van Gaal was incredible, you used to watch and just take everything in, how he prepared a team, how he set a team up defensively.’

‘The only one thing was that you lost that little bit of freedom when you are attacking.

‘At this time, I was on my journey of thinking I was going to go into coaching, so I was thinking I want to do this but in the final third just give that little bit more freedom.

He admitted Van Gaal’s approach limited attacking freedom, which contributed to the struggles of stars including Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao.

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In describing the distinction between Ferguson and Van Gaal, Rooney lauded Ferguson’s “simple” style and said the former would make his Manchester United team feel superior to their opponents.

Rooney emphasized that top players benefited from the more straightforward strategy, as Ferguson spent less time honing his set pieces and tactics.

Ferguson would “come into his own” for more difficult games, he said, adding that he thought the strategy made players more responsibility on the field.

Rooney praised Van Gaal’s tactical acumen but acknowledged that his methods caused Di Maria and Falcao, among other top players, to “dissolve” under his strict supervision.