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What's the story?
Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney named Louis van Gaal as the greatest coach he's worked under in his career in an interview with De Telegraaf.
The Old Trafford icon believes that the Dutchman is technically superior to any other managers he's worked with, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.
In case you didn't know...
Van Gaal announced his retirement from football management earlier this year, bringing an end to a 25-year career, of which a two-year stint with United was his last job.
With him at the helm of affairs at Old Trafford, The Red Devils won their first silverware since Alex Ferguson's departure, when he led them to a 12th FA Cup triumph in 2015-16 season.
In March this year, the DC United forward had hailed Van Gaal for being tactically superior to all the other coaches he's worked under so far.
Rooney is the record goalscorer for the England national team and for Manchester United, and is one of only two players with 200 or more goals in the Premier League.
The heart of the matter
The 33-year-old striker enjoyed the best form of his life and a trophy laden spell under Sir Alex Ferguson, but working just two seasons under Van Gaal and winning one trophy was enough for him to snub the legendary Scot as his best coach, giving that title to the former Barcelona and Netherlands coach.
Rooney said in the interview: (Via Goal)
“Van Gaal is by far the best coach I have worked with - one hundred percent."
“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.”
The former England captain praised the manager's management style and said that he will try to emulate him as and when he steps into managerial role. He continued:
“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.”
What's next?
Rooney 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.
DC United take on Dallas FC in their MLS fixture on Friday.
