Manchester United record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is set to face former United teammate Phil Neville as his DC United side come face to face with Inter Miami later on tonight in a crunch clash.
In what Neville has described as a ‘weird’ situation that will see him face off against his former United teammate, should he lose the affair, he is likely to be sacked.
Neville has failed to get any consistency out of Inter Miami, and should he suffer another defeat it is likely that the club, led by David Beckham, will pull the trigger.
The Inter Miami boss is coming under increasing pressure to ensure his side’s play-off hopes remain alive. His deal also expires at the end of the current season.
He hailed Rooney, who will be in the opposition dugout, as an incredible leader always destined for elite management.
The 45-year-old told The Sun, “He loves football, you see the players that love football, that football is their life, that they have an obsession with football. Wayne was that person.”
On his former teammate’s path to where he is today in management, Neville remarked, “I think the impressive thing with his management is he has put the hard yards in, he has done all these badges.”
“He hasn’t taken the easy route. Look at the job he had at Derby. That was really, really tough but would have been an incredible learning experience that he will be putting into good use at DC.”
“It will be weird to come up against him, because we were team-mates for so long and good team-mates, too.”
Neville, in admission of his precarious situation ahead of the tense fixture, emphasized that there was a long-term plan in place and called for a level of trust.
“I know I’m in a results business, in terms of performances, results, points, qualifying for playoffs. I trust the players that we brought in, I trust the process and our own abilities to deliver.”
The game is one for United fans to keep an eye on as the two legends go head-to-head in the high-stakes affair.
