Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney is hoping Jose Mourinho can have a similar impact on his career to club’s legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss was officially named as Louis van Gaal’s successor in May and has since won his first game in charge of the Old Trafford outfit in a 2-0 friendly victory over Wigan Atheltic earlier this month.
However, Man Utd kicked off their China tour with a dismal 4-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Friday. But Rooney, who admitted earlier this week that his starting place in Red Devils’ starting line-up is under serious threat, has compared the Portuguese coach to Man Utd great Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 30-year-old said: “I came to Manchester United because I wanted to work under Alex Ferguson and then in the latter years [with] what Mourinho has done in football, in Spain and Italy and England, he is a manager who you want to play under.
“He is one of the best around and to learn from what he brings it’s going to be exciting for me to try and learn under a manager such as himself.”
Rooney operated in midfield in the final half of last campaign as well as in the European competition in France but Mourinho revealed last month that the England International will switch back to playing the role of an attacker under him.
“It’s almost like a free role and I am excited to play it. He said to me about playing No 10. That is something I’ve now got to work on and get myself in the right position to score goals,” Rooney added.
“I have scored goals all through my career and I have no doubt in my goalscoring ability. Hopefully I can do that this season.
“I like to be involved in the game and I am now playing for José who, straight away, has no fears about players coming deep if they want to. It’s a different way of playing, a different manager, different ideas and if I can bring my game and qualities to this team, then I know I can create chances and score goals.”
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