Good luck in your managerial career, Ruud

The Old Trafford legend retired from playing in 2012 and has been gaining off-the-field experience ever since, initially as a striker coach within the PSV Academy. 

Ruud has also worked with their Under-19s, Under-21s and first team (as an assistant), while also helping within the Netherlands squad. Now, the time has come for him to take on the big job in Eindhoven. 

“It has always been my dream to be head coach at PSV,” says the former striker, who scored 62 goals in 67 matches for PSV between 1998 and 2001 before his transfer to United. 

“I’ve worked intensively with Toon Gerbrands, PSV’s current General Manager, the past few seasons. I was convinced I could pursue a professional coaching career and originally thought I needed one more year to gain experience. But sometimes things do go their way and you find out that life is not completely manageable. This is the right moment to take the next step.”

 

𝚅𝚊𝚗 𝚃̷𝚑̷𝚎̷ 𝙾𝚞𝚛 𝙼𝚊𝚗.

𝐑𝐮𝐮𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐢𝐣 🔴⚪
Our new head coach,
starting next season. pic.twitter.com/cp80IbEtg7

— PSV (@PSV) March 30, 2022

Expanding in his club statement, van Nistelrooy continues: “A few things have come together the past few months. The appointment of Marcel Brand as PSV’s General Manager and the conversation we’ve had were the final push I needed to make a conscious choice and take this step. 

“PSV are ready to embark on a new path this summer and I am ready to play my part. Talks with the board of directors have reinforced the idea that we are ambitious and look to create something special in the long term. I am excited for the task in hand at PSV.”

A FIRST EXPERIENCE OF 'COACHING'

In his entertaining episode of UTD Podcast in 2021, van Nistelrooy admitted to co-host and former team-mate David May that he had never envisioned a coaching career when he was playing. 

But, as Sam Homewood pointed out, there is a video clip from the DVD 'Play Like Champions' that often circulates on social media showing Ruud at Carrington teaching a young Academy talent named Danny Welbeck, under the watchful eye of former United coach and his fellow Dutchman Rene Meulensteen. 

 

'I want it, I can do this' 💪

- @RvN1776

— PSV (@PSV) March 30, 2022

“No, never, I never thought I would be a coach actually,” laughed Ruud. “That was probably the only thing that made me think about it. It was kind of funny. Rene Meulensteen, he helped me a lot and was telling me what to do. He just said 'do that trick and just shoot'. I didn't have to do a lot, but in the end that was kind of funny that day, with Rene and Danny, we did that video. 

“When I retired, I thought about what I was going to do and in the end, staying in football was the only thing that I knew something about. So I started doing some training, some badges and all that. I started getting into it and I liked it, and I kept going.”