On June 24, Wayne Rooney informed Derby County, a soccer club in England’s East Midlands burdened by financial problems and recently relegated to the third division, that he was stepping down after 18 months in his first head coaching job.
In Washington, wheels began turning — a process that culminated Wednesday with Rooney’s appointment as boss of another troubled soccer team, D.C. United.
“When I saw that he was going to step down, I said, ‘This is a moment,’ ” chief executive Jason Levien said. “I thought there was a narrow window that maybe the timing would be right to bring him here and to help lead us forward.