Many former Manchester United players are now in management, but one is racking up league titles in his home country.
The number of players to feature under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and go on to become managers is simply huge.
Ruud van Nistelrooy is set for relegation at Leicester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moved to Besiktas earlier this year, and Robin van Persie has returned to Feyenoord.
Ferguson has no doubt inspired so many of his former players to head into management, though matching his brilliance is a tough ask.
One manager is racking up the league titles, though – and his dominance shows no sign of ending any time soon.
Former Manchester United striker David Healy wins another league title
David Healy may be a name that some United fans don’t remember all that well.
The Northern Irishman came up in the United ranks and made three first-team appearances under Ferguson before being sold to Preston North End in 2000.
Healy went on to score plenty of goals for Northern Ireland, even firing them to victory over in England in 2005.
Healy moved into management in 2015, taking over at Linfield in Northern Ireland – and his time in charge has been a huge success.
Sunday saw Healy and Linfield celebrate winning the NIFL Premiership for a sixth time together, having also finished top of the table in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Linfield had the trophy wrapped up in March but were able to celebrate their title win with a 2-1 win over Glentoran on Saturday.
Healy has now won the league title in six of his ten seasons in charge of Linfield, winning 314 of his 492 games in charge.
That longevity is pretty astonishing in the modern game, and Healy will be looking to keep his incredible run going in the coming years.
Sir Alex Ferguson has inspired David Healy
Healy was sold by Ferguson, with the then-United boss seemingly believing that he wouldn’t quite make the grade at Old Trafford.
Healy did go on to enjoy a strong career in the Championship and later in the Premier League before heading up to Scotland with Rangers.
Ferguson and Healy went their separate ways more than 20 years ago, but the influence of the great Scot remains strong.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2022, Healy admitted that he was taking inspiration from Ferguson in his work at Linfield.
Healy wasn’t exactly copying Ferguson, but he has taken elements of his management – especially in terms of making everybody feel valued.
“I’ve tried to bring a lot of what I learnt from him to my job here. It’s not just about the first-team players, but also taking the time to get to know all the staff in the office, the under-20s and all of the coaches,” said Healy.
“I try to watch as many games with the kids as possible and I want to know everyone. I want the parents to see me at their kids’ games. Sir Alex did that all the time. Parents knew he was taking a keen interest in their children and that they would be looked after at Manchester United.
“I can’t say I am doing it exactly like Sir Alex, or as well as him, but I try. He knew every single person in the club. Manchester United was a family club that was supported worldwide. The standards were driven by him and the care he took with staff. He made them feel important to the success of the club. Even though it might not have seemed like their role was important on the outside, he made them know that it absolutely was,” he added.
Ruben Amorim will hope for similar success and longevity as Healy, who may well attract interest from English clubs off the back of another title win.
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