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Ruud van Nistelrooy will fulfil what is surely a career dream tomorrow night when he leads out Manchester United at a floodlit Old Trafford.
The scene of numerous unforgettable experiences as a player, he will get the chance to experience the feeling as manager after Erik ten Hag was sacked yesterday and he was named interim.
If reports are to believed it seems that his moment will be fleeting as Ruben Amorim already seems close to being named the new permanent manager of the club.
Van Nistelrooy joined the coaching set up at United in the summer but was manager at PSV Eindhoven in the 2022-23 season, winning the Johan Cruyff Shield and the KNVB Cup.
The United legend has described the influence that his time at United as a player had on his coaching philosophy in the past. Speaking to The Guardian in the summer he stated, “at Manchester United, Sir Alex was always pushing us forward. Look forward, play forward, get crosses in, shoot on target. As a player, I loved the way that made me feel. I wanted to play like that, and I want to transmit that same feeling to my teams, to my players.”
After the lack of goals scored under the Ten Hag era, United fans will be licking their lips at the possibility of seeing more goals fly in the opposition’s net on Wednesday night.
The Athletic have taken a deep dive into the Dutchman’s tactical set up and claim he predominantly deployed a 4-3-3 with a slow patient build up that would look to “hit direct balls to wingers.”
His PSV youth and senior team would aim to overload central areas to create space for the wingers and “as the ball passed the halfway line, the impetus would be for the wingers to get wide, while the advanced full-backs would tuck inside and help the central midfielders.”
“Once the ball approached the final third, the attacking impetus was channelled to their talented wingers, who would look to beat their opponent in one-v-ones.”
This could be seen in the utilisation of the now Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo, who would drift in from the left and shoot.
Marcus Rashford has already credited Van Nistelrooy with his uptick in form this season, so should expect to see plenty of the ball under his system.
Alejandro Garnacho is used to receiving the ball and being asked to run at defenders but one player who may get a chance to shine is that of fan favourite Amad Diallo.
Before entering the pitch against Fenerbahce last week in the dying embers of the game, Amad could be seen on the sidelines, with Van Nistelrooy’s almost apologetic arm around his shoulder for his recent lack of game time.
Amad’s trickery and intelligence on the ball could be a sought-after skill in Van Nistelrooy’s system.
The use of overloading fullbacks should also suit Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui who are both strong in attacking areas and very comfortable on the ball, to drop into a midfield role.
Worryingly, The Athletic point out a familiar problem with Van Nistelrooy’s system to that of Ten Hag’s.
“Without the ball, Van Nistelrooy’s PSV largely defended in a stubborn 4-1-4-1 shape, where Sangare — in particular — was tasked with cleaning things up before opponents ventured too close to the PSV penalty area.” Therefore, it could be reasonably assumed Manuel Ugarte’s energy may be employed by the 48 year old to shore up the defensive line.
“Rest defence was an issue for several sections of the season (particularly after the Qatar World Cup), due to the amount of players that were often ahead of the ball when the ball was lost. There was only so much space Sangare could cover in matches, and PSV had a tendency to give up worrying counter-attacking opportunities to the opposition.”
This will bear scary similarities to Ten Hag’s United last season and for parts of this such as their horror showing in Porto defensively, where there was massive disconnect between the midfield and back four.
On the whole, with Amorim’s appointment looking like only a matter of time, it seems probable that Van Nistelrooy will at most get tomorrow’s match and the home tie versus Chelsea at the weekend to showcase his managerial talent.
Regardless of how fleeting it will be, it will certainly be a special moment for any United fan at the turn of the millennium, who used to watch the great goal getter regularly put defences to the sword in front of an adoring Old Trafford.
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