‘I Saw Sir Alex Destroy Man Utd Icon

Ruud Van Nistelrooy is back at Manchester United after being confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s new assistant manager alongside fellow Dutchman Rene Hake. After settling into his new role in pre-season, where players are said to have responded positively to his training methods, he will return to Wembley Stadium on Saturday as the Red Devils take on Manchester City in the Community Shield.

While Van Nistelrooy’s focus will be on ensuring that his side come away with a solid showing and the win, the derby may bring back some unwanted memories for the 48-year-old. 23 years ago, the striker got his first taste of a defeat in a Manchester Derby, but what happened afterwards nearly ended his Manchester United career.

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The fateful game in 2002 saw United fall to a 3-1 defeat at Maine Road thanks to a double by Shaun Goater and another from Nicolas Anelka. In what was an embarrassing result and performance, Sir Alex Ferguson came into the dressing room at full-time absolutely livid and prepared to deliver one of his famous hairdryers.

The man who felt the brunt of this more than anyone, was Van Nistelrooy, who had entered the changing room sporting a blue jersey instead of a red one after swapping with one of his opponents. In what was his first experience of the fierce derby, former defender Rio Ferdinand explained how Ferguson reacted when his star striker walked in with a City shirt.

“That’s how he was, he was just mad. That’s when I sat there and thought: ‘This is a big game, isn’t it?’ I didn’t realise before that game and ever since then, whether you win more or less, I knew that week leading up to a derby was all or nothing.

The story was corroborated by Gary Neville, who was the captain for the clash and said that the dressing room fell completely silent. He also noted that a new rule was born in that moment, meaning the players could no longer swap shirts “ever again”

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The defeat to City was one of the lowest points of United’s 2002/03 campaign, where they would eventually go on to become Premier League champions. It was also one of the lowest points of Gary Neville’s career as the man himself would reveal years later.

Despite being considered to be the best right-back in Premier League history according to AI, Neville’s display that day was one of the worst of his career. He has since spoken on how badly it impacted his confidence at the time:

“He was quite vicious at times, the boss. He sent me out after half time and then subbed me three or four minutes into the second half so I had to walk off in front of the crowd. I went home that night and drank. I got bottles of beer and was on my own at home in Bolton.

“Then on Tuesday he called me into the office and he left me out of the Champions League game against Leverkusen in midweek and he didn’t bring me back in for 10 days. I struggled for a bit after that.”