Louis van Gaal, who took over as the manager of Manchester United at the end of the World Cup where he coached the Netherlands, has given his reason for naming Wayne Rooney the club's captain for the upcoming season. The Dutch coach was impressed with Rooney's demeanor on the playing field during United's summer tour of the U.S., where they won the International Champions Cup by defeating Liverpool 3-1 in the final game.
"He accepted the responsibility and I like him very much," said van Gaal of Rooney. "How he trained and also how he performed in the games, how he performed to his fellow players." Though van Gaal seems to have a lot of confidence in what Rooney can do on the field, he has warned his star to stay out of trouble off of it, according to Daily Mail.
The team needed to fill the position that was left empty when Nemanja Vidic signed with Inter Milan this summer, reports Goal.com.
Rooney, 28, seemed like the obvious choice, as he has been with the club since 2004, scoring 216 goals in all competitions.
Rooney and van Gaal will try to get Manchester United back to their normal position near the top of the Premier League table, after finishing in a disappointing seventh place last season.