René Meulensteen: Former Manchester United coach on time under Sir Alex Ferguson and creating CR7
After a 12 year stint at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, spending six years as the first team coach, Rene Meulensteen experienced one of the greatest periods in the clubs history.
So, how is this period looked back on and what impact did he have building the world renowned superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo?
So, how is this period looked back on and what impact did he have building the world renowned superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo?
Transcript
00:00 After a 12-year stint at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, spending six years
00:09 as the first-team coach, Rene Moulinstein experienced one of the greatest periods in
00:14 the club's history as during his time he helped Sir Alex secure three Premier League titles,
00:20 two League Cup trophies and the club's third-ever triumph in the Champions League.
00:25 So how is this six-year period looked back on by the former coach?
00:30 What we did achieve, and it was the most successful period in the history, but I think if you
00:33 ask anybody, including myself and I think a lot of players, they would still say we should have
00:41 had a league title more, we lost one with one point, we lost one against City on one goal.
00:46 So those are marginal. I think again the players will still look back at those two Champions League
00:53 finals against Barcelona, where they think, listen, we could have done better. The players were so
01:00 eager every year, it wasn't a matter of if we're going to win anything, it was a matter of
01:05 what we're going to win and that was very, very clear from the start, those ambitions.
01:09 A standout moment for Rene at Manchester United was having the opportunity to work alongside their
01:16 youth players, some that went on to be global superstars, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo,
01:22 who went on to become the most well-known athlete on earth. So what was it like working with CR7 and
01:28 what sort of impact did Rene have on building one of the greatest players of all time?
01:34 You know, progressing really well within United because he came to United as a boy,
01:40 but he left a man and we sort of, I think, you know, put a really good base for him in place,
01:49 that when he came to Real Madrid he had a fantastic sort of, you know, already,
01:54 you know, some really good years behind him in terms of training, in terms of games
02:00 and game experience that he could build on at Real Madrid, which he did.
02:05 After countless managers since Sir Alex that all haven't quite hit the expectations of Rene's
02:12 previous boss, now it's Dutchman Eric ten Hag's turn as things start to look more positive
02:18 and the club look more like themselves season on season. What are Rene's thoughts on the current
02:24 ongoings at his former club? You know, a good season for himself, he can be really pleased
02:29 with that because you win a trophy, you know, you're in another final, which you lost obviously
02:35 to City and you finished third and you're back in the Champions League. A fantastic insight into how
02:43 the game was mastered by developing world superstars and having a cool head at the top of
02:48 the ranks to ensure an incredible period at the highest level in the game. Whilst Rene looks back
02:54 at his time in Manchester with great fondness, he's not ruled out a possible return to help
03:00 them become the team they once were.