Due to PSV’s strong season, you would almost forget that Ruud van Nistelrooij was ‘normal’ head coach in Eindhoven a year ago. The former top scorer for Manchester United and Real Madrid, among others, decided to close the door of the Philips Stadium behind him due to a lack of confidence from the club management. Van Nistelrooij has been without a club since then, but hopes to be able to return to work soon, preferably in Spain.
The former Dutch international started his job as head coach of PSV after the 2021/22 season. The people of Eindhoven were very pleased with his work on the bench at Jong PSV and were confident that he would guide the main team to success, as successor to Roger Schmidt. Van Nistelrooij won the Johan Cruijff Shield and the KNVB Cup with PSV and guided the club to second place and thus the preliminary rounds of the Champions League, but nevertheless decided to resign before the end of the season. Things did not sit well between Van Nistelrooij and the club management, which is why the former decided to close the door behind him.
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Van Nistelrooij has been without a club since then, but he has certainly not been idle. This is what he says in conversation with the Spanish ASH that he used his time afterwards to watch a lot of football and talk to colleagues. “I was in Buenos Aires because I really wanted to see a match between Boca Juniors and River Plate. And I spoke to Demichelis and Gallardo so they could tell me their experiences. I have also been to Spain, where I spoke with Pellegrini a few months ago and in Valdebebas with Ancelotti last year. All these conversations have been very useful to me and I am sure that they will help me a lot when I start working as a trainer again, I hope soon.”
Van Nistelrooij was announced at the beginning of last month Relevo still linked with the position of head coach at Real Mallorca, which is not yet safe in the competition, but made an impression by reaching the final of the Copa del Rey (Athletic Club was too strong in that). Van Nistelrooij hopes to work in Spain in the (near) future. He was already active there as a player at Real Madrid and Malaga. “I would love to work in Spain, but also in the other two leagues I have played in, the Premier League and the Bundesliga. And yes, I have had discussions with some clubs in Spain,” says Van Nistelrooij, who does not elaborate on which clubs these are.
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