Jorn van der Doelen says he can easily tell the state of mind of his former PSV teammate and the new Manchester United interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. "Sometimes I see the old Ruud on the sidelines," says the midfielder, who played for PSV between 1994 and 2001. "His chin goes up. I know then that he doesn't like it at all, he's boiling inside and he'd rather run on to the pitch."
"When he was a player, he would get angry for a while when his chin went up. Now that he's older, he seems calmer. Now that chin quickly goes down again."
Will we see the chin go up as soon as tomorrow when Van Nistelrooy takes charge of his first United game, against Leicester, in the Carabao Cup? It is not impossible as the temper that made him so successful as a player still remains since his transition to the dugout.
His goals for United - there were 150 of them in 219 games - between 2001 and 2006 will make it easier for him in the short run, but it will count for nothing in the long term as another former striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, found out.
Van Nistelrooy is a determined person who has been seen throughout his career as a bit of a predator who cared only about scoring goals and winning trophies. If that required a bit of a fight along the way, so be it. Van Nistelrooy's time at United ended after he swore at Alex Ferguson when he wasn't brought on in a game, as revealed in the manager's autobiography. Van Nistelrooy apologised years later for his outburst.
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Denne historien er fra October 29, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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