Sir Alex Ferguson Taught Me To Establish A Connection With My Players – Ruud van Nistelrooy

Manchester United assistant coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy has come out to open up about the most valuable lesson he ever learnt under Sir Alex Ferguson. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, the most important thing he took from working with Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson was their relationships with the individual, because footballers are not just football players, they are human beings first.

Ruud added that if a manager can manage to establish a connection with a player, only then can they get the best out of him.

His words, “As a player, the most important thing I took from working with Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alex Ferguson was their relationships with the individual. It’s not a football player; it’s a person. When you reach that connection, you get the best out of people – and from there on you can help them build their careers. I never let that thought go out of my mind.

Sometimes you have to be tough on them and sometimes you have to get your arm around them. That mixture is important, but the most important thing is to always be honest and straight. When you have knowledge about the game and what is necessary at the highest level, you must share it.

As a coach, you just try to help players reach their goals. And it is something that makes you feel really proud when you see young players develop. Gakpo went on to Liverpool and Noni to Chelsea, but there are a couple more from that time who are now in the PSV first team. The feeling I get when I see this is comparable with winning a league, really.”

WOW.

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division in the English football league system.

Nicknamed the Red Devils, they were founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed their name to Manchester United in 1902. After a spell playing in Clayton, Manchester, the club moved to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

Alex Ferguson and his assistant Archie Knox arrived from Aberdeen on the day of Atkinson’s dismissal, and guided the club to an 11th-place finish in the league. Despite a second-place finish in 1987–88, the club was back in 11th place the following season. Reportedly on the verge of being dismissed, Ferguson’s job was saved by victory over Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final.

The following season, Manchester United claimed their first UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup title. That triumph allowed the club to compete in the European Super Cup for the first time, where United beat European Cup holders Red Star Belgrade 1–0 at Old Trafford. The club appeared in two consecutive League Cup finals in 1991 and 1992, beating Nottingham Forest 1–0 in the second to win that competition for the first time as well.