The biggest compliment that can be paid to Ruud van Nistelrooy as he walks away from Manchester United, four months on from his return, is that there are plenty of people at the club who would have liked him to stay longer in some capacity, including several in the dressing room.
That is not simply because of 150 goals in 218 appearances almost two decades ago — as much as that would help any former player to make an impression on their return to an old club, and as much as Van Nistelrooy’s pedigree lent him a quiet sense of authority around Carrington.
It is because his amiable, personable coaching methods and style of man-management proved popular around the place, too. Ever since Van Nistelrooy joined Erik ten Hag’s staff in the summer, there has been praise for his charismatic way with the players and his down-to-earth dealings with staff.
That was part of the reason for his appointment, after all. At the end of last season, United’s hierarchy were eager to reshuffle Ten Hag’s coaching staff in an attempt to change the dynamic around the club. In other words, to lift the mood.
Van Nistelrooy arrived on Ten Hag’s recommendation and helped with that first as an assistant, then as an interim manager — forming a particularly close bond with Casemiro.
“From minute one, he spoke to us and told us to always enjoy it, to be happy always, to take advantage of the moment to play for Manchester (United),” the Brazil international said on Sunday after his side’s 3-0 victory over Leicester City. “We often forget, don’t we?”
Many United players had indeed forgotten that as results stagnated during Ten Hag’s final days but Van Nistelrooy tapped into it once he took interim charge a fortnight ago: celebrating his players’ goals as if he was still on the other side of the touchline.
He sought to maximise the advantage of playing four back-to-back games at Old Trafford by building on his connection with the fans, making a point of engaging with the Stretford End every time he walked out, then every time he walked back in.
Interestingly, he did not rip things up and start again. In terms of system, style and selection, there were no grand departures from Ten Hag’s methods. His aim was stability — “to continue playing what the players are used to, 85 per cent”, as he put it on Sunday.
That remaining 15 per cent was the difference between United winning three of four under their interim manager, compared to four of 14 under Ten Hag. In the past, under a different hierarchy, that record might have been enough to guarantee his long-term position.
But, of course, it is not quite as simple as that. And for all the warm, fuzzy feelings of those four games, the decision on whether Van Nistelrooy would stay on in some capacity under Ruben Amorim’s management had to be taken cold.
Crucially, it needed to be taken by Amorim. For all Van Nistelrooy’s good work, it is difficult to argue against Amorim being given the option to start with a clean slate.
Rather than allowing themselves to be swept up by sentimentality and imposing Van Nistelrooy on their new appointment, it was only right for United to leave the call up to their incoming manager. It is only fair that he has taken that opportunity, too. Amorim has always intended to work alongside his own staff, several of whom were with him at his first club Casa Pia.
That made any stay for Van Nistelrooy unlikely and some who observed his manner behind the scenes at Old Trafford on Sunday — shaking hands with many different club figures — were given the impression he was already saying his farewells. Similarly, from a distance, his thank you to the Stretford End at full-time felt valedictory.
If there were talks between Amorim and Van Nistelrooy on Monday, they were not face-to-face. The United assistant was spotted leaving Carrington just after midday, a few hours before Amorim landed at Manchester Airport and arrived at United’s training ground for the first time.
United confirmed Van Nistelrooy had left the club several hours later, adding that he will “always be very welcome at Old Trafford”. Fellow assistant Rene Hake and goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar — two other summer additions to Ten Hag’s staff — have also departed, alongside analyst Pieter Morel, who joined from Ajax last year.
Darren Fletcher is set to stay, providing a link between the first team and the academy. Set-piece specialist Andreas Georgson, another summer addition, could also remain in place as his appointment was led by technical director Jason Wilcox rather than Ten Hag.
Hake left a head coach role at Go Ahead Eagles to join United. Ten Rouwelaar parted ways with Ajax, shortly joining the Eredivisie club from Burnley. Each will have known the precarity of the situation they were walking into this summer and that their own job security was tied to Ten Hag’s.
Even Van Nistelrooy was not safe in the end, despite his profile and status as a United great. But his success in stabilising the club at a point of crisis and the impression that he has made in a short time at Carrington can only help his chances of returning to be a No 1 elsewhere. His aim was to give Amorim a foundation to build upon. He achieved that.
In his final press conference on Sunday, he spoke emotively of that moment with the Stretford End after the final whistle. “It felt like a closure,” he said, “and the future is open.” That future will not be with United but thanks to Van Nistelrooy, United’s future can start on a good footing.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
