The legendary striker is finally in charge of a club going places and now is the time to prove he is a great coach and not just a big name
Some of the best coaches, both from the past and present, were brilliant footballers in their day. Take Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Didier Deschamps, Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane. Yet from Diego Maradona and John Barnes through to Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard or Andrea Pirlo, there is also a wealth of evidence to show that top footballers do not always make top coaches.
Owners and directors, however, continue to trust former greats with masterminding their teams despite having scarce or unconvincing track records in the dugout. Birmingham City are the latest club to put their eggs in the basket of one of the best players of the modern era after hiring Wayne Rooney.
Rooney's predecessor, John Eustace, had made a strong start to the season and taken the Blues to sixth position in the Championship, with realistic hopes of qualifying for the play-offs. In his last two outings as manager, he had overseen big wins over Huddersfield Town and local rivals West Brom.
Eustace's reward was to be booted out of his job and replaced by Rooney, whose D.C. United had just finished ninth in their MLS Eastern Conference and failed to make the play-offs. His two-year stint in charge of Derby County, meanwhile, ultimately ended in relegation, albeit in very challenging circumstances.
Rooney's appointment will undoubtedly further raise the global profile of Birmingham, whose new American owners, which include NFL legend Tom Brady, have huge ambitions. But hiring him is also a huge gamble. Rooney has so far built his coaching reputation on fighting fires and damage limitation. Now his task is to lead Birmingham back to the Premier League for the first time in 13 years. Falling below the sixth place Eustace had achieved and missing out on the play-offs would be seen as a huge failure.
So how good a coach is Rooney and is he likely to fall into the category of Cruyff and Zidane, or Henry and Lampard?
Getty ImagesLeading Derby to safety… just
Rooney cut his coaching teeth with Derby, first as a part-time player, part-time assistant coach to Philippe Cocu, and then as permanent manager after the Dutchman was sacked.
The Rams were bottom of the Championship when Rooney made the transition, having taken six points from 11 matches. Under Rooney, who was interim boss for two weeks before taking the role permanently, they picked up 40 points from 35 games and ended the campaign one place and one point above the relegation zone.
It was not exactly a great escape, however. Derby lost six of their final seven matches and only achieved survival on the final day of the season after the most frantic of finishes. They snatched a 3-3 draw against fellow relegation contenders Sheffield Wednesday with a late equaliser from the penalty spot, sending the Owls down instead.
They also had to rely on Cardiff City equalising in the 88th minute against Rotherham United, who would otherwise have stayed up and relegated Derby.
AdvertisementGetty Relegated but with pride intact
Derby could not avoid relegation in Rooney's second campaign in charge, but this was the season when his reputation as manager grew. The club's long-running financial issues condemned the Rams before the season had begun as they were placed in administration and unable to make any transfers.
Matters only got worse when they were hit with a 12-point penalty in September and then had an additional nine points docked in November for breaching the league's accounting rules. The punishments only made Derby more defiant, and Rooney was credited for leading a brilliant run of five wins and three draws in 10 matches to give them a semblance of hope of avoiding relegation.
Derby's form led to Everton approaching Rooney when they sacked Rafael Benitez, but he turned down an interview to focus on trying to keep the Rams up. That hope eventually faded and Derby were relegated in April, eventually finishing second from bottom. If it had not been for the points deduction, they would have finished 17th, taking 55 points.
Rooney was given a great reception by supporters following a rousing speech to outside the club's training ground after being relegated. "We're grateful for the support you've shown us all season. It's been f*cking tough, been hard. Difficult moments for us, for you especially", Rooney said. "But we've tried our best, we've given everything we can. It's unfortunate we've been relegated but now we'll plan to make sure this club comes back."
Rooney did not keep his promise, though, as he left Derby in June 2022 after the planned takeover by Chris Kirchner fell through.
Getty ImagesDeveloping back with D.C.
Just a month after leaving Derby, Rooney went back to D.C. United, the penultimate club of his playing career. As with Derby, he inherited a club in a mess. D.C. United were bottom of the Eastern Conference when he succeeded Hernan Losada, and in 15 months he oversaw a big improvement.
But it was ultimately not enough and D.C. failed to make the play-offs in Rooney's first and only full season in charge, finishing ninth in the 15-team Eastern Conference. They lost 14 of their 34 matches while winning just 10.
Rooney was happy to admit that he saw his time in D.C. as another step in his coaching education. "Coming out here has just really been about gaining experience and for me to try and develop as a coach," Rooney told in July.
“I know I am not where I want to be as a finished article, but these next few years are really important in terms of me getting to grips and getting the best out of myself and eventually out of the players. But it is something I really enjoy. It’s a great experience for me to come here and work and I think it will really help me moving forward.”
GettyAttentive and soothing presence
One problem that some world-class footballers have when they turn to coaching is a lack of empathy with players not quite at their level. That does not appear to be the case, however, with Rooney, who has developed close relationships with his players.
“He makes you think about things that you have never thought about the game," former D.C. United midfielder Lewis O'Brien told . "You watch videos and he’ll stop it and his assistant coaches would stop and ask ‘Where should you play it now?’. I would give my answer and then Wayne would go ‘No, you should have played this pass five seconds ago because that guy is running that way and his footwork is out’.
“I didn’t think of anything like that. There are just sides of the game that players don’t see and to have a coach like Wayne and the backroom staff, who have been with him for a while, to understand those little things is strange. I’ve tried to take the most out of this situation as possible.”
Derby striker Martyn Waghorn, meanwhile, said Rooney always looked to lift the spirits of the younger players and was a soothing presence on the sidelines. "He could sense there was anxiousness and just tried to calm it down as much as he can, saying don't worry, it'll be fine I believe in you," Waghorn told . "He's got that winning mentality, but in terms of relaying it across to the players, he's very relaxed. He brings a lot of calm in pressure situatons. A really good presence to have in the side."
