Ruud van Nistelrooij wants to work as a trainer again. He informed Omroep Brabant of this on Monday during the celebration of the 60th anniversary of his former club FC Den Bosch. The ex-coach of PSV, Manchester United and Leicester City is open to a role as head coach or assistant coach at a club, preferably close to home.
A special book has been written for the 60th anniversary of the club from the Brabant capital. Van Nistelrooij was invited to hand over the first book. “I tell everyone the story. Everyone wants to talk about Manchester United and Real Madrid, but I always tell them that I started at FC Den Bosch. This is the club where I have played for the longest.”
At Den Bosch he took his first steps in professional football, laying the foundation for his career. He is therefore happy that the club is doing well sportingly: “The season I played here in the first team, we came last. Now things are going a lot better and you also notice that it is starting to come alive.”
Van Nistelrooij presented the first book on Monday to Huub Brands, a volunteer who has been with the club for as long as it has existed: “I also wanted to do that for him. He was my flagger in youth and gave us some points. He also often brought me home, because my parents could not always drive to training and competitions, so I am very grateful to him for that,” says Van the Man.
New club?
The 49-year-old former top striker is currently without a job. When he was relegated from the Premier League with Leicester City last season, he was thrown out. Would he be open to a job at FC Den Bosch? “I never rule out FC Den Bosch. If we can find each other at a certain time, then you should certainly not rule that out. But at the moment that is not the case at all, because the technical staff is doing a great job.”
Still, he wants to get back to work. “I have been a trainer, but I was also an assistant to Erik ten Hag in Manchester. I am open to both roles. If there is an opportunity to become an assistant, that is also a possibility.”
He does not yet know where Van Nistelrooij wants to become a trainer. But he does prefer a place close to home. “I’ve been away for a year. But it’s very nice to be home with your family. I have two children aged 19 and 17, who are now also making progress, so I want to be part of that. If that can be combined, then I prefer it.”
So it is certainly not inconceivable that we will see him working in the Netherlands again: “I don’t rule anything out, including the Eredivisie. If the ambitions match and it fits, then it’s good.”