Wayne Rooney enjoyed the prime years of his career under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson, but the ex-Manchester United captain insists another manager was ‘streets ahead’ of him tactically.
Signed from Everton in 2004, Rooney went on to make 400 appearances in all competitions under Ferguson, winning five Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.
The pair didn’t always see eye to eye, however, and their relationship was certainly altered when Rooney handed in a transfer request in 2010 in a bid to engineer a move away from the club.
Rooney ultimately remained at Old Trafford for four further seasons after Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, but enjoyed limited success under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal before returning to his boyhood club Everton.
But despite the limited success, Rooney admitted that he did find himself seriously impressed by the tactical insights of Van Gaal, who made Rooney club captain in 2014 but failed to win over fans with his stagnant style of football.
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‘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.
‘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.
‘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.
The Dutchman’s style of football and intense tactical instructions were certainly not for everyone, though, with several attacking players struggling greatly under his tutelage.
‘I saw players dissolve, the central midfield player literally couldn’t move,’ Rooney added.
‘We saw (Angel) Di Maria and (Radamel) Falcao come in. You had to stay in your lane and in your channel.
‘It was tough as an attacking player, but I think defensively as he set up it was so good.’
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