Former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was named on Tuesday as the new head coach of DC United and has been tasked with reviving the moribund Major League Soccer team.
It was a reunion for the 36-year-old British icon, who played for DC United from July 2018 to October 2019, scoring 25 goals in 52 appearances before leaving to serve as a player and coach at England's Derby County.
"To come back to MLS, to DC United, was an exciting challenge for me and something which I feel can develop me as a coach, but also the team needs to improve," Rooney said.
"I'm an ambitious person. One day I want to manage at the top level. This is part of that process."
DC United stands 5-10 with two drawn on 17 points, sharing last overall in the 28-team league. United fired coach Hernan Losada after six matches, replacing him with interim manager Chad Ashton.
"I really believe with my abilities to develop young players, we can really get this club back to successful ways again," Rooney said.
"It's going to take a lot of hard work but that's what I'm here to do and really improve the team."
Rooney resigned as coach of Derby County last month after the team's relegation to League One, England's third-tier, opening the door to his MLS return.
"I've seen a few (news articles) certainly back in England on this as possibly a backward step in my managerial career," Rooney said.
"I really find that disrespectful to this league.
"I feel the experience of guiding Derby County over the past 18 months has been great in my development as a coach."
DC United hasn't made the playoffs since Rooney helped the squad get there in 2018 and 2019 as a player, but must duplicate his revival of a league-worst club from four years ago to reach the post-season.
"There a mentality I have to put into the players so when they go on the pitch they become a real horrible team to play against," Rooney said.
"That's exciting. That's what I plan on doing.”
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