Ruud van Nistelrooy leaves Manchester United as Rúben Amorim checks in
Ruud van Nistelrooy has stepped down from his position as assistant coach following Rúben Amorim's appointment at Manchester United. The Dutchman led the team to three victories and one draw in his temporary role after Erik ten Hag was dismissed, but he will not be involved in the new chapter at Old Trafford.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, a former striker for United, came back to the club last summer to join Ten Hag's coaching staff, almost two decades after leaving Old Trafford. He had expressed his intention to remain with Amorim and complete the 18 months left on his contract. United also announced the departures of his coaching colleagues René Hake, Jelle ten Rouwelaar, and Pieter Morel.
United expressed: "Ruud is and will forever remain a legend at Manchester United. We appreciate everything he has done and how he has conducted himself during his time with us. He will always have a warm welcome at Old Trafford."
Amorim has a group of reliable coaches from Sporting, and while his support team hasn't been finalized yet, it's expected that he'll be joined by Emanuel Ferro, Adélio Cândido, Carlos Fernandes, goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital, and sports scientist Paulo Barreira.
Amorim arrived in England on Monday afternoon and went straight to the club's training facility, but he is waiting for his visa to finalize his ability to begin work.
Amorim received a warm welcome from Omar Berrada, the CEO of United, along with sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox. While he cannot participate in training just yet, he is permitted to visit the club's facilities and have meetings. United anticipates that the visa process will be expedited now that Amorim is in the country and the necessary paperwork is in progress. They expect him to join training soon after most of the team members come back from their international duties.
Matthijs de Ligt believes that the biggest challenge for Amorim will be helping the players at United grasp and adjust to his strategies. Amorim is likely to introduce his favored 3-4-3 formation, which represents a significant shift from the 4-2-3-1 setup employed by Ten Hag and Van Nistelrooy.
De Ligt expressed his thoughts on the defensive formations, saying that whether a team uses three or four defenders is not as crucial as how the overall setup works. He emphasized that playing with three defenders can be ineffective if the team lacks cohesion and players don’t perform their roles well. The same applies to a four-man defense. He believes that the primary challenge for coaches is to ensure all players are in sync and working together, which is essential for both team progress and individual development.
