Wayne Rooney names best tactical manager of his career

The former England player spent half of his club career playing under Alex Ferguson.

During his playing career, Wayne Rooney worked under some of the most illustrious football managers, but he feels that one was “streets ahead” in terms of game strategy.

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

He acknowledged that their relationship had soured as a result of the transfer request he made in 2010, after voicing concerns about Man United’s capacity to draw in the best players in the world.

Several managers found it difficult to meet Ferguson’s standards after his retirement in 2013. In the end, Rooney would remain at Man United until the conclusion of the 2016–17 campaign.

The all-time record goalscorer for Manchester United also 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.

But when it came to the game’s decisions, Rooney thought Louis van Gaal was exceptional. He played under the Dutchman for a couple of years at Manchester United, with the Red Devils placing fourth and fifth in those two campaigns. Two days after the team won the FA Cup in the 2015–16 season, Van Gaal was fired.

Rooney reveals the best tactical manager he played under at Man Utd

Rooney called Van Gaal’s approach to the tactical part of the game “incredible,” but he also praised Ferguson as his best manager overall.

“The best I have worked under was Louis van Gaal, that might sound strange,” he said on the Wayne Rooney Show.

“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.”

“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. Van Gaal was just incredible, his attention to detail, his training sessions were quite boring at times but every player knew exactly what they were doing. He was the best by quite a long way.”

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