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Leicester City have officially confirmed the managerial appointment of former Manchester United striker and interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Van Nisterlrooy left his coaching role at United earlier this month, following Ruben Amorim’s arrival as Erik ten Hag’s replacement.
The legendary striker was keen on remaining at Old Trafford and becoming part of Amorim’s backroom staff but the new United head coach had other ideas, preferring to work with his coaches from Sporting Lisbon.
It recently emerged that Van Nistelrooy was set to become the next manager of Leicester, who parted ways with his predecessor Steve Cooper after just 12 league games at the helm.
The Foxes have now officially named Van Nistelrooy as their new permanent manager. He will be in the dugout for Leicetser’s meeting with West Ham at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.
Reacting to his appointment, Van Nistelrooy said, “I’m proud, I’m excited. Everybody that I speak to about Leicester City Football Club is enthusiastic, has great stories about the quality of the people working at the Club, the supporters, also of course, the recent history of the Club is impressive. I’m dead excited to start and to get to know everyone and give everything I can for the Football Club.”
“It’s also something I hear a lot about. I can’t wait to find that out, to be part of the Club, in a manager role, which is a big responsibility. I take it very seriously. Also, getting to know everybody, the community and the supporters, I can only imagine what it means to them. I want to feel it. I want to get started and get to know everybody and take time to invest in the relationship with all the other departments and community of the Football Club. That can make us a really strong movement to go forward and get results.”
“Of course, when you’re in football a long time, you know so many people and that’s why I said about the stories about the Club and its people and its supporters. That’s always positive. It’s a stable club, you can see within the leadership structures that it’s all good and organised and with an idea. Also, the squad, of course, is exciting with young emerging talents, also experienced players… a good mixture. I can’t wait to get on the pitch and start with them.”
The 498-year-old added, “I think the depth of the squad is very good as well. There are two players in every position of good quality. There’s young, emerging talents, with very experienced players and, obviously, the captain, Jamie Vardy, has the most experience and the character. He’s the face of the Football Club. As a former striker, I can’t wait to work together with him as well.”
“Preparing those two games against Leicester, that’s where you get to study the opponent, and their qualities – and also where you can hurt them. Of course, that gave a broader picture of the squad and the team, and the behaviours of the players. After that, the interest was shown, and I started to look even further into the games and looking to improve.”
“Where can we improve and where do we have to improve to stabilise, to start growing, to start collecting more points? That’s what I did, and I trust the squad that we can manage that.”
Van Nistelrooy further explained that at times, he will need to be flexible with his tactical approach, depending on the opponent.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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