Wayne Rooney sees parallels between José Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson

Wayne Rooney has compared José Mourinho to Sir Alex Ferguson, with
Manchester United's captain relishing working under the Portuguese as
he did when the Scot managed the club.
Rooney said he joined United from Everton in summer 2004 because
Ferguson was in charge and he won all but one of his major honours
while playing for him. He believes Mourinho can have a similar impact
on his career.
"I came to Manchester United because I
wanted to work under Alex Ferguson and
then in the latter years [with] what
Mourinho has done in football, in Spain and
Italy and England, he is a manager who you
want to play under," the 30-year-old said.
"He is one of the best around and to learn from what he brings it's going
to be exciting for me to try and learn under a manager such as himself."
United are in Shanghai on their pre-season tour, where they lost the
opening game 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund on Friday night. Rooney said:
"I've been working under the manager for the last few days and the
sessions have been very good. It is exciting, he is one of the best
managers in world football and he has a clear idea of what he wants. I'm
just looking forward to playing for him now."
Mourinho is clear that Rooney will play as the No10 this season after
operating in midfield under Louis van Gaal last term. "It's almost like a
free role and I am excited to play it," Rooney said. "He said to me about
playing No10. That is something I've now got to work on and get myself
in the right position to score goals. I have scored goals all through my
career and I have no doubt in my goalscoring ability. Hopefully I can do
that this season.
"I like to be involved in the game and I am now playing for José who,
straight away, has no fears about players coming deep if they want to. It's
a different way of playing, a different manager, different ideas and if I
can bring my game and qualities to this team, then I know I can create
chances and score goals."
Rooney admitted that when Van Gaal was in charge goals were harder to
score. "As the striker in the last couple of seasons, it has been difficult
with not creating many chances," said the Liverpudlian, whose 245
strikes place him four behind Sir Bobby Charlton's record tally for
United. "It will be the same as the England record. It will be a huge
honour to become record scorer at this club. I have no doubt that it will
happen this season. It will be a huge moment for me."
Despite the plan being not to play on the tour Rooney signalled he may
be involved against Manchester City in Beijing on Monday. "I feel good
so I want to get out back playing and I am sure I will play some part on
Monday," he said.
On 3 August Rooney has his testimonial at Old Trafford against Everton.
"I am delighted to have been at this club for such a long time and I am
really pleased the club have granted me a testimonial which will raise a
lot of money for children's charities so I am in a privileged position to do
that," he said.