After Erik ten Hag parted ways with Manchester United, legendary striker Ruud van Nistelrooy stepped in as interim coach to stabilize the team. With Ruben Amorim‘s imminent arrival at Old Trafford, the Portuguese manager has made a decisive call regarding Van Nistelrooy’s future at the club.
Amorim arrived in Manchester on Monday alongside his staff to officially begin his tenure as United’s head coach. Just a day after managing his final match with Sporting Lisbon, he held his first meeting at Carrington, where he was greeted by club directors. After discussions with Van Nistelrooy, Amorim decided not to retain the Dutchman as part of his coaching staff.
After the 3-0 victory against Leicester City, his future in the club remained up in the air, even with the Dutchman being under contract for at least one and a half more year as an assistant. Amorim showed his respects to Van Nistelrooy, but preferred to work with his own staff, as expected.
Following Amorim’s decision, Manchester United issued a statement announcing Van Nistelrooy’s departure: “Manchester United can confirm that Ruud van Nistelrooy has left the club. Ruud rejoined in the summer and has taken charge of the team for the past four matches as interim head coach. Ruud is, and always will be, a Manchester United legend.
“We are grateful for his contribution and the way in which he has approached his role throughout his time with the club. He will always be very welcome at Old Trafford,” communicated the club in the statement.
Manchester United player saluted Van Nistelrooy
Despite only being interim coach for 2 weeks, Van Nistelrooy was able to make significant impact on some players. One of those was former Real Madrid Casemiro, who posted a photo with the Dutchman on Instagram. “Forever grateful. Legend,” wrote the Brazilian.
Several coaching staff followed Van Nistelrooy’s departure
Van Nistelrooy’s departure was part of a broader reshuffle at the club. Alongside him, assistant director Rene Hake, goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar, and first-team performance analyst Pieter Morel also left, following Amorim’s decision to bring in his own backroom staff.
Manchester United under Van Nistelrooy
The former United striker returned to Old Trafford in the summer to work under Erik ten Hag and was installed as interim head coach following his compatriot’s sacking on October 28. During his brief time on the position, he made United a complete different team.
Ruud coached 4 games in Manchester United: the 5-2 victory against Leicester City for the Carabao Cup, the 1-1 Premier League draw against Chelsea, the 2-0 victory against PAOK for Europa League, and the 3-0 victory again vs Leicester, now for the Premier League. His impressive 83% points-per-game ratio now stands as one of the highest for any Manchester United coach, albeit from a small sample size.
Interestingly, all four of Van Nistelrooy’s matches were at Old Trafford, where his leadership helped lift United from a challenging period. Besides, Sunday’s victory over Leicester means United head into the final international break of the year 13th in the table, four points off the Champions League qualification places.
