Ruud van Nistelrooy, the head coach: Influenced by Bielsa and guiding PSV’s Champions League hopes – The Athletic

Manchester United fans at Brentford on Saturday didn’t have much to sing about but that didn’t stop them. One of the chants was in honour of former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy — and how United could do with a goalscorer like the Dutchman in his prime right now.

We know much about Van Nistelrooy, the world-class striker who played for Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV Eindhoven, United — where he scored an astonishing 150 goals in just 219 games between 2001-06 — Real Madrid, Hamburg and Malaga.

But what about Van Nistelrooy, the head coach?

Tonight, he takes his PSV team to Ibrox in a Champions League qualifying play-off. PSV knocked out Monaco to set up a tie against Rangers, managed by his close friend Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who, ahead of the game, said how he and Van Nistelrooy weren’t expected to become coaches.

They played 48 times together for the Dutch national team but only one will see his side reach the lucrative group stage. Van Bronckhorst overachieved in taking Rangers to May’s Europa League final while Van Nistelrooy, 46, is only five games into his senior management career.