Rooney appointed DC United head coach

Wayne Rooney has been appointed head coach of Major League Soccer side DC United.

It is Rooney’s second job in management after leaving Derby last month – leading the club through administration and relegation to League One.

England and Manchester United’s record goalscorer, 36, spent 18 months at DC United and captained the side.

DC United said Rooney is “one of the most exciting and dynamic up-and-coming managers in our sport”.

Co-chairmen Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan added in a statement: “He’s already proven in his young coaching career that he knows how to lead a group through adversity.

“He has an understanding of our league and what it takes to be successful in Major League Soccer thanks to his two-year stay with us as a player.

“The passion he showed while wearing Black-and-Red electrified our city and our club and we are so excited to welcome him back as our head coach.”

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DC United have been without a manager since April, are second bottom of the Eastern Conference and were beaten 7-0 by Philadelphia Union on Friday.

Interim head coach Chad Ashton will remain in charge of the team until Rooney has received his work visa.

Rooney spent 18 months in Washington before joining Derby as a player-coach in January 2020, scoring 23 goals in 48 MLS matches.

He was put in interim charge of the team in November of that year with the club bottom of the Championship after they parted company with Phillip Cocu.

Rooney was confirmed in the post on a two-and-half-year contract three months later, a decision which prompted him to confirm his retirement as a player.

Derby entered administration in September 2021 and last season were relegated from the Championship, having been docked 21 points throughout the season.

The former Everton forward, who made his professional debut for the Toffees in August 2002 aged just 16, then quit Derby on 24 June.

“Wayne is a winner and a competitor. His work ethic and what he demands of himself and his players is second to none,” said Dave Kasper, DC United president of soccer operations.

“Wayne’s approach to the game and the style of soccer he wants to play fits within our philosophy and we believe he is the right person to lead our club moving forward.”

BBC/Emmanuel Ukoh