62 Daily Express Wednesday, August 07, 2019 FOOTBALL: WAYNE’S COMING HOME
DX1STDays later he was appointed as assistant to
new Villa boss Dean Smith and the club were
promoted to the Premier League by beating
Derby 1-0 in the play-off final in 2019.
DAVID BECKHAM
Beckham has not gone directly
into coaching but bought an MLS
franchise in 2014 and Inter
Miami are finally scheduled to
begin competing in 2020.
Beckham is also a director of
Salford City after joining formerafter 28 games which yielded 10 wins,
seven draws and 11 defeats, including a
7-0 thrashing by Barcelona in the first
leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final.
JOHN TERRY
Terry finished playing for
Aston Villa after defeat
in the Championship
play-off final in May
2018 and announced
his retirement as a
player in October.Wayne Rooney is the latest member of
England’s ‘Golden Generation’ to make
the move into coaching after taking
up a player-coach role at Derby.
GARY NEVILLE
Better known as a television
pundit since retiring as a
player, Neville was already an
assistant with England when
he was surprisingly appointed
Valencia manager in December- He was sacked in March 2016
FROM BACK PAGE
German star’s
representatives in
Washington next week.
Arsenal made it clear
they would listen to offers
for Ozil this summer, but
have struggled to find a
buyer for a player who
earns £350,000 a week.
Rooney, 33, has signed
an 18-month contract with
Derby and will join them
once his MLS season ends.
Asked if the fire within
him was still fierce, Rooney
said: “Yes, it is. I love
football. It’s what I’ve done
all my life.
“That will always be
there. If it wasn’t, I
wouldn’t still be playing.”
The striker added he was
ready for the rigours of the
Championship and stressed
he would know exactly
when to quit because his
body would tell him.
Rooney said: “I’m
experienced enough to
know if maybe I need to sit
out a game.”
He is excited about
the challenge and,
although he has signed
first and foremost as a
player, the chance to
complete his coaching
badges was a major pull.
“It’s great to see players
like Steven Gerrard and
Frank Lampard going into
management and it’s
something I’ve always had
ambitions to do,” said
Rooney.
“I feel over the last
15, 20 years we haven’t
seen so many ex-England
players go into
management. It’s
something I’ve always
wanted, but I can’t say it
enough – my first aim here
is as a player.”
Rooney, who has four
sons, admitted his return
to England was partly
influenced by family
considerations.
“With my eldest boy,
it’s a crucial time in his
schooling,” he explained.
“It wasn’t solely based on
family. There were other
factors.”
Derby boss Phillip Cocu
said: “We’re extremely
lucky to have him. He’s a
star player.”I cannot
wait for
my Rams
challenge
OZIL: USA beckonsHOW
GOLDEN
BOYS
FARED
of such a blatant piece of opportunism.
He added: “The number I wear isn’t a
big deal. I’ve worn 18, 8, 9, 10, 23
throughout my career and now it’s
32.”
Canny businessman Morris is
confident all the numbers will add up,
though, as he faces up to scrutiny from
rivals on how they can finance
Rooney’s £100,000-a-week deal
without falling foul of Financial Fair
Play regulations.
Morris said: “We want to try and
grow the brand. We always want to be
compliant with FFP and we see
nothing in this deal that would change
that.”with big ambitions. They want to get
into the Premier League.
“They’re trying to make that next
step and I think they can. I’d love to
play my part in helping them make
that.”
Derby owner Mel Morris says the
surprise swoop for Rooney had
already opened up exciting new
commercial opportunities, including a
record-breaking deal from their
sponsors – online casino company 32
Red.
It is no coincidence that the former
England captain will wear No32 on
his shirt as part of the deal, but the
Scouser played down the significancewouldn’t have known about it! We
have been trying to keep it quiet. The
only person I told was my wife and,
thankfully, she managed to keep it to
herself.
“So, obviously Sir Alex hasn’t been
in touch yet but it will be nice to
speak to him about it.”
Rooney revealed the hush-hush
operation had all come about very
rapidly, but said he had received offers
and enquiries from other clubs.
“It has all happened quickly,” he
said. “My agent spoke to Derby and it
became apparent there was a deal
which could happen.
“I had a decision to
make over an
opportunity to come
back and play in England,
but also to take on a
coaching role.
“It was too great for me
to turn down. Let me
make it clear – I’m here first and
foremost as a player.
“That’s my No 1 objective. Then,
secondly, I want to learn and get
experience on the other side of
things.”
Next step was speaking to Derby
boss Phillip Cocu, who convinced
Rooney that there was golden
opportunity for him.
“I spoke to Phillip on the phone
to see what the situation was,”
he said. “I think that was
important.”
A big part of the negotiations
centred around Rooney’s
desire to finish off the
current MLS season
with DC United
before committing
himself to Derby
from next January.
He said: “I felt it
was only fair. They
have been fantastic
to me.
“There’s nine
games left and I
think it would
have been
disrespectful not to
finish the season
with them.
“That was always the
plan. But it’s great to
come to a club like DerbyBy Dave ArmitageFERGIE TAUGHT
Rooney says advice from his
old United boss will help him
in his new role with Derby
WAYNE ROONEY will take his first
steps towards management with the
words of former boss Sir Alex
Ferguson ringing in his ears.
Rooney joined Championship
Derby as a player-coach yesterday
admitting Fergie gave him the one
piece of advice that has always stuck
with him.
Streetfighter Rooney and United
legend Ferguson did not always see
eye to eye in the trophy-laden years
following his £27.5million move from
Everton to Old Trafford in 2004.
But Rooney recalled yesterday how
former shipyard worker Fergie passed
on the best piece of
wisdom he has ever heard.
Rooney said: “Over the
years, there are a lot of
things managers say that
stick with you, but I always
remember Sir Alex saying
that the hardest thing to
do in life is to work hard.
“That stuck with me.
Whether it’s football or in an office or
on the factory floor, Sir Alex said the
most difficult thing was to stay
motivated and work hard. If you can
manage to do that then that’s what
keeps you going.”
Rooney laughed as he revealed he
had not had a call from Ferguson
about his new
life in the
Championsip,
saing: “HeTHAT’S MY
BOY: But
Ferguson and
Rooney did
not always
hit it offWife was
only person
that I told
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