EXCLUSIVE: A return to Wayne’s World: English football legend Rooney arrives at DC United stadium ahead of first game as coach as fans wait in blazing 91F heat to meet star
- Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the star striker walking into DC United’s Audi Arena in Washington DC
- The football star was met by club staff and a fan who waited two hours in the baking 91F heat for his signature
- But he smiled broadly at Adam Slen, 36, who handed Rooney two shirts to sign – one an England away shirt
- Slen, a longtime DC United fan, told DailyMail.com he hopes the new arrival will transform the struggling side
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Ex-England star Wayne Rooney has arrived for his first game in charge of Major League Soccer‘s DC United.
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the star striker walking into DC United’s Audi Arena in Washington DC, where he was met by club staff and a fan who waited two hours in the baking 91F heat for his autograph.
Rooney, 36, declined to comment on his team’s chances for his first game in charge, against Columbus Crew, but smiled broadly at Adam Slen, 36, who handed him two shirts to sign – an England away shirt and the other a Manchester United top.
Slen, a longtime fan of DC United, told DailyMail.com he hopes Rooney’s arrival will change the fate of the struggling squad, including a 7-0 defeat in Philadelphia last weekend.
Ex-England star Wayne Rooney has arrived for his first game in charge of Major League Soccer’s DC United
Rooney was met by club staff and a fan who waited two hours in the baking 91F heat for his signature
‘I’ve been a fan of his for ten years. I think it’s good that he’s here. We need him to bring in more talent, but I think he can make it work,” said 36-year-old Adam Slen
He said: ‘I’ve been a fan of his for ten years. I think it’s good that he’s here. We need him to bring in more talent, but I think he can make it work.”
Rooney was unveiled as DC United’s new boss at Audi Stadium on Tuesday, two days after he flew to the United States and a month after he resigned from Derby County.
In a press conference, he described the move as “an exciting challenge” and added: “I’ve seen a few articles, especially in England, on this [being] possibly a step back in my management career. I thought that was really a bit disrespectful to this competition.
“Obviously I’m an ambitious person, I want to manage at the highest level and this is part of that process, in terms of coming here, trying to develop this club, trying to achieve success here, but also developing myself as a manager. ‘
He also confirmed that his wife, Coleen, and their four sons will not be moving to DC, but said the WAG, 36, has given him its blessing.
The MLS season has less than three months to go and Rooney is expected to spend most of the off-season in the UK with his family.
Coleen reportedly struggled after moving to DC in 2018 when her husband joined DC United as a player. She told Rebecca Vardy in a text message, “Washington isn’t the best….nice to visit, but different to live in.”
Rooney’s American playing career also saw him embroiled in a series of drunken incidents, including a December 2018 arrest for public intoxication at Dulles International Airport.
Rooney was unveiled as DC United’s new boss at Audi Stadium on Tuesday, two days after he flew to the United States and a month after he resigned from Derby County
The MLS season has less than three months to go and Rooney is expected to spend most of the off-season in the UK with his family.
“Obviously I’m an ambitious person, I want to manage at the highest level and this is part of that process, in terms of coming here, trying to develop this club, trying to achieve success here, but also developing myself as a manager” said Rooney:
In February 2019, he was caught getting into a car with barmaid Vicki Rosiek after a 10-hour binge drinking in Florida.
A source told the Sun that while Coleen is reluctant to join her husband in the US for a second time, she wants her brother to move to DC as a chaperone to prevent further drunken incidents.
The source told the Sun: “Wayne has assured Coleen that he will not abandon her. Things are different than when he was a player and he has to lead by example on and off the pitch so he doesn’t fall back into bad habits. But Coleen is still concerned.
“Although she trusts Wayne, she knows he can be easily led, and so she would like her brother or one of Wayne’s brothers to be there to keep an eye on him.
“It would make Coleen a lot happier. It’s something they did before. It helped to keep her informed of what was going on, and Coleen wants to keep a close eye on him.”