The Ruud van Nistelrooy era at Manchester United may not last long, but he has an opportunity to audition for other top jobs if he can inspire a rapid transformation.
Named interim head coach after the sacking of Erik ten Hag, the former striker has reportedly been increasing his influence at the club since joining as an assistant in the summer.
He will now take charge for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup last-16 match against Leicester, as well as potentially staying on for upcoming matches against Chelsea, Paok Salonika and Leicester again before the November international break.
However, with Ruben Amorim being increasingly strongly linked with the permanent role, this seems unlikely.
What we know about Ruud van Nistelrooy’s coaching style
Van Nistelrooy has never managed a full season at senior level, leaving his only head coach role with PSV Eindhoven one match before the end of the season.
In 14 months in the job, he won the Dutch Cup and Super Cup, as well as finishing second in the Eredivisie behind Arne Slot’s Feyenoord.
He became renowned for slick attacking football with a remarkably talented group of players – at different points he could call upon Cody Gakpo, Noni Madueke, Savio, Xavi Simons, Jarrad Branthwaite, Ibrahim Sangare and Thorgan Hazard.
The Eredivisie top scorers in 2022-23 with 89 goals scored – and 128 in all competitions – Van Nistelrooy’s PSV were far better going forward than they were at the back.
They only had the sixth-best defensive record, conceding more goals than relative minnows Sparta Rotterdam.
Speaking on The Overlap in March 2023, Van Nistelrooy said: “I notice an instinctive feeling that when I’m coaching, I like to see the ball in my team.
“When we have the ball, I’m like ‘yes, now we can start creating’. I like us to prepare and attack – you play possession until a certain moment you’re going to hurt the opponent.”
He has also spoken about the influence of former PSV manager Sir Bobby Robson, especially his focus on positivity and simplicity.
“Robson could explain everything in simplicity and said: ‘Boys, in the media you speak about yourself or positively about somebody else.’ Period,” Van Nistelrooy explained.
One of his greatest strengths has been developing individual players, with Simons saying his compatriot taught him “everything”.
His influence on Madueke and Gakpo, both of whom left PSV in January 2023, is also clear – Van Nistelrooy had worked with both in the academy as well as the first team.
But given he’s only likely to take charge of a maximum four matches, this isn’t going to make much difference to United. What’s more interesting is his preferred tactical set-up – a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with quick wingers to hold width and inverted full-backs to dominate the midfield – not unlike Ten Hag.
Considering United’s injury concerns against Leicester and limited depth at full-back, it will be difficult to make many fundamental changes, but given one of Ten Hag’s issues was scoring goals, he may well just aim to let this side off the leash and attack from the off.
Man Utd’s predicted line-up vs Leicester
4-2-3-1: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Lindelof, Martinez; Ugarte, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Diallo; Zirkzee
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/pCjQcsF
Post a Comment