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MANCHESTER. — Ruud van Nistelrooy doesn’t know when the moment will come back again.
That moment of being in charge of Manchester United, at Old Trafford, when they win in such thrilling style.
At the final whistle of United’s 5-2 win over Leicester, Van Nistelrooy first shook the hand of vanquished opponent Steve Cooper, then he strode purposefully towards the centre circle, where he shook the hands of the officials, embraced his players and had a particularly appreciative hug with two-goal midfielder Casemiro.
Then he headed to the Stretford End, where two decades ago, Van Nistelrooy celebrated so many of his 150 goals for the club.
As he was walking he turned to acknowledge the rest of the stadium. But once in front of that famous old stand, Van Nistelrooy raised his fists in jubilation. He had delivered on his pre-match demand.
“We want to get a lot of the ball, attack and try to give the fans a good night,” he said on Sky Sports before kick-off.
There will be some who will wish the union was more long lasting and United were not trying to secure the services of Sporting coach Ruben Amorim to replace Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday.
Roshelle from nearby Wythenshawe certainly fell into that category.
“He [Ten Hag] should have gone in the summer,” she told me before the game. “It happening wasn’t a shock but maybe the timing was.
“I would have preferred it if Ruud had got the job. He has all the history with the club.
“I didn’t actually know who he [Amorim] was. He is unbeaten in his own country and that is good. But that is not here. Ruud played here. He knows what the game is like here.
“But if that is the way it is going, I obviously hope it works out because it has not been good enough for too long.”
Van Nistelrooy said after the game he would be willing to help the club “in any capacity”.
Yesterday, he sat in front of the media and conducted a news conference to talk about Sunday’s game against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
It is likely, but not certain, Van Nistelrooy will still be in charge for that game. Indeed, there is a growing feeling it may be the international break in late November when Amorim finally severs ties with Sporting.
United have been here before, drinking in the euphoria of a famous ex-player succeeding as interim boss.
Ryan Giggs beat Norwich 4-0 in April 2014 when he stepped in for four games following David Moyes’ dismissal. Michael Carrick won 2-0 in Villarreal when he took over for three games after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s exit in 2021..
“I will text Ole about this,” smiled Van Nistelrooy when he spoke to MUTV at the end of the game.
United failed to score four goals in a first half under Ten Hag, as they did against Leicester.
United’s fans got behind their team and they provided a performance.
Van Nistelrooy does not know how many more days there will be. But he does know, on this one, he did well — and he enjoyed it. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter