Wayne Rooney finally makes his sideline debut for DC United

Almost three weeks after being appointed DC United's new head coach, Wayne Rooney finally made his sideline debut Sunday night.

The Englishman, who played for the club in 2018-19, was watching on at Audi Field as his MLS side produced a dramatic comeback win over Orlando City.  

Rooney was hired earlier this month, only days after DC United's jarring 7-0 defeat at the Philadelphia Union under interim manager Chad Ashton. 

But the 36-year-old was unable to take to the sidelines straightaway as he had to wait to receive his work visa. 

While the visa was pending, Rooney was classified as a consultant and not allowed to coach on game day. 

He watched home and away matches from the suite level with, among others, Pete Shuttleworth, his former assistant at English club Derby County. 

Shuttleworth is following Rooney stateside but is still waiting for his work visa application to be processed.  

Ashton, interim coach since late April, confirmed Friday that the Manchester United legend had received his work visa and would make his first appearance on the sidelines.

'He'll be patrolling the sidelines this weekend,' Ashton said on the team's weekly media call. 'We're looking forward to that. A little more normalcy involved in the coaching setup.'

In the interim, DC United recorded two losses and a tie under Ashton to sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

'The one thing we can promise (the fans) is the players will work, and players will give everything on the pitch,' Rooney said. 'It's a demand which I put on players. They'll give everything on the pitch to get results. And I'm excited.'

And Rooney certainly had every reason to be excited as his team produced a stunning victory in the dying minutes of the game.