Derby County made the football world take note in wake of perfect Huddersfield Town start | OneFootball

The Rams started the 2019/20 campaign in outstanding fashion, both on and off the pitch.

The 2018/19 season ended in heartbreaking fashion for Derby County, and after seeing themselves past Leeds United in dramatic circumstances in the play-off semi-final, they were beaten at Wembley by Aston Villa.

Frank Lampard departed the club just weeks later to take charge of the team that he had spent nearly the entirety of his playing career at, Chelsea, and the Rams were forced to look for a new manager.

Former owner Mel Morris went in search of someone with a proven track record in coaching, and he turned to the Netherlands for his next man.

Phillip Cocu made the switch to Pride Park after a difficult time at Fenerbahçe in Türkiye. However, he had won the Eredivisie three times with PSV in the past and his pedigree as a manager was huge by the time he moved to England.

After a difficult pre-season, Derby needed a boost, and they got exactly that on the opening weekend of the season for two separate reasons.

Derby started the season in excellent fashion on the pitch

The Rams were forced to wait before making their bow in the 2019/20 campaign, with their clash against Huddersfield Town not falling until the Monday evening.

The Terriers were playing their first Championship game since suffering relegation from the Premier League, having spent two seasons in the top flight after an incredible promotion in 2017.

However, Derby were coming off the back of a play-off final themselves, and they were a relatively unknown quantity heading into the clash with a new-look management team and squad after the loans of Harry Wilson, Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount came to an end.

Nevertheless, they quickly showed that they had more than enough quality to dispatch one of the favourites to win promotion back to the Premier League at the John Smith's Stadium.

An incredible Tom Lawerence brace in the first half handed Cocu the perfect start to life as a Ram, with his number 10 in inspired form as the visitors put themselves into a commanding position after just 25 minutes.

Kieran Dowell, who had joined the club on loan from Everton just a month prior, gave away a penalty just moments later, allowing the hosts a way back into the game as Karlan Grant halved the deficit. But Derby held on to secure a superb opening weekend with three points on the road.

In the midst of victory Wayne Rooney was signing his Derby contract

There is always excitement surrounding the first game of the season, but there will rarely be days that create as much a buzz for Rams fans as Monday 5 August 2019 did.

Ahead of the match, rumours started to emerge and quickly spread that former England and Manchester United striker, Wayne Rooney, was due to join the club in the winter.

While it was very much in the air, the following day a press conference was called and the now 39-year-old was announced as a Derby player, with his contract due to begin in January 2020 as he finished his season in the MLS with DC United.

While it took a few more months to finally see Rooney in black-and-white for the first time, there can be no questioning just how exciting that first weekend was for the Rams and Cocu had managed to enjoy a perfect start to life at Pride Park.

Unfortunately for the East Midlands outfit, things started to get tough and by the time their new number 32 made his debut, the play-offs were starting to get out of reach.

Derby ended the season in 10th place, in what proved to be their final season, unaffected by relegation battles, administration and the third tier for nearly half a decade.