A Manchester United club legend finds himself thrust into the role of caretaker manager.
A former striker who plundered iconic goals, back in the time when United won major trophies on a regular basis. A rookie coach looking to establish himself in management, now given the chance to do so at the sharpest end of top level football.
Sound familiar? For Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, now read Ruud Van Nistelrooy. It remains to be seen if Van Nistelrooy gets the job on a full-time basis, or even if he wants it.
But if he does, United supporters will be hoping the scenario pans out better than it did for Solskjaer. The parallels between the two are quite startling.
And now the focus is on Van Nistelrooy, who has stepped into the breach following the sacking of Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman, 48, is well liked in the dressing room and on the training ground. But so was Solskjaer.
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Van Nistelrooy returned to United in the summer as Ten Hag’s assistant, with little experience of elite, frontline management behind him. Just like Solskjaer.
He scored 150 goals in all competitions in five seasons with United, and in the 2002/03 campaign plundered 25 to help United win the title. He left United in the summer of 2006 to join Real Madrid, and also played for Hamburg and Malaga before hanging up his boots.
He returned to former club PSV Eindhoven in 2013 to start his coaching career, working at the academy before assisting Guus Hiddink and the Netherlands squad at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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In 2022 he was made head coach of PSV, and in his first season guided them to the Dutch Cup, before resigning after citing a lack of support from his players and staff.
Then United came calling, which has ultimately led to the chance of a lifetime, whether he’d planned it or not.