Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has claimed that Louis van Gaal is the best manager he's worked with tactically.
The current DC United forward made 559 appearances for United and is the club's current all-time record goalscoer, but despite playing most of his club football under Sir Alex Ferguson, the former Everton Academy graduate opted to focus on the strengths of David Moyes' predecessor instead.
The former Barcelona coach was appointed by the Red Devils in the summer of 2014, but despite managing to win 52 per cent of his 103 games in charge, as well as collecting the FA Cup, Van Gaal was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy with a year still remaining on his contract.
But when asked about the managers he played under at United , the former England captain singled out the Dutchman for praise.
"I think David Moyes was a bit of a surprise choice but his record at Everton over ten years was great," Rooney told talkSPORT.
"It didn't work for Moyes and they ( Manchester United ) then went for the experience of Louis van Gaal.
Ryan Giggs hits back at Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Class of '92 criticism
"He was tactically the best I have worked with – in terms of setting you up in a shape defensively and everyone knowing their roles.
"It was just about getting the attacking side right as well as the defensive side.
"He won a few trophies but it didn't pan out the way everyone would have hoped."
That's What I Call Football podcast episode 33 is here!
Keep up-to-date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
