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Ruud van Nistelrooy

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Ruud van Nistelrooy
Personal information
Full name Rutgerus Johannes Martinius van Nistelrooy
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 17
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2007

Rutgerus Johannes Martinius "Ruud" van Nistelrooy (originally spelled van Nistelrooij) (born 1 July 1976 in Oss, North Brabant) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a centre forward for Real Madrid and the Dutch national team. He previously starred for Manchester United, where he holds the record for being the club's top scorer in European competition, despite having only played for them for five seasons.

He has been the top scorer in three different European leagues as well as having been the top goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League on three occasions.

Biography

Club career

The Netherlands

Van Nistelrooy started his professional career in 1993 with Dutch second division side FC Den Bosch, where he was converted from a central defender to centre forward after playing part-time for Nooit Gedacht and Magriet. After netting 12 goals in 13 games in the 1996-97 campaign, he transfered to SC Heerenveen the next year, and scored thirteen goals in 31 matches in his lone season with the club. He was then signed by PSV Eindhoven the next season for €6.3 million, a then-record transfer sum between two Dutch teams.

He scored an impressive 31 goals in 34 matches, the highest season total in the Eredivisie and second-highest in Europe overall, in addition to scoring all three of PSV's goals in a Champions League match against HJK Helsinki on November 25, 1998; Van Nistelrooy capped off the year by winning the Dutch Player of the Year award. In his second season at the club, he had netted another 29 goals and again finished with the Eredivisie scoring title.

Just days after an £18.5 million transfer to Manchester United in the summer of 2000 was shelved after United's medical staff had found problems with his medial ligaments, Van Nistelrooy suffered a knee injury during a training session. When the transaction was finalized in April 2001, United were forced to pay PSV an additional £500,000 for the player's services. After he successfully passed a medical, Van Nistelrooy joined Manchester United for a total of £19 million, and signed a five-year contract with the the reigning Premier League champions.[1]

Manchester United

During his first season, he scored 23 goals in 32 games, ending the year on a league-record eight-game consecutive scoring streak. He also scored ten Champions League goals capping an incredible debut season by being named the PFA Players' Player of the Year.

Playing for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur.

Van Nistelrooy started off the 2003–04 season by scoring twice in his first two league games, which boosted his consecutive-games record to ten. He scored his 100th and 101st goals for the club in a 4–3 victory over Everton F.C. on February 7, 2004, while also breaking Denis Law's European club goalscoring record. He signed a new contract which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2008.

He missed a large part of the 2004–05 season due to injury, but nonetheless scored a Champions League-best eight goals despite Manchester United's elimination in the knockout stage by A.C. Milan. He is currently the third-highest European scorer in UEFA competition, behind Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko, with 57 goals.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, van Nistelrooy scored in United's first four Premiership games. He went on to finish as the second-highest scorer in the Premiership with 21 goals, behind Thierry Henry of Arsenal.

Exit from Manchester United

van Nistelrooy against Chelsea in April 2006.

Van Nistelrooy was an unused substitute in the League Cup final against Wigan Athletic, fueling speculation of a rift between him and Ferguson, which van Nistelrooy denied. He was nonetheless left on the bench for six consecutive league matches, and though he then returned to the starting lineup and scored match-winners against West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., his earlier lack of playing time enabled Henry to overtake him as the Premiership's leading scorer. Fresh doubt spread over van Nistelrooy's future when he was benched for the season finale against Charlton Athletic, won 4-0 by United. Ferguson claimed that van Nistelrooy was angry at the decision and left the stadium three hours before kick-off.

On 9 May 2006, Setanta Sports reported that van Nistelrooy's exclusion from the squad was due to a training-session fight between him and teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Van Nistelrooy allegedly criticised Ronaldo's tendency to hold onto the ball instead of passing to his teammates, which sparked the fight, after which the Dutch international remarked, "Go running to your daddy." The article claimed that this was not a reference to Ronaldo's father (who had died earlier in the season), but to United's Portuguese assistant coach Carlos Queiroz.[2] Both players have since denied that the incident ever took place.

Van Nistelrooy signed with La Liga side Real Madrid C.F. on July 14, 2006, departing Manchester United after five seasons with a total of 150 goals in 200 starts and nineteen substitute appearances, as well as the club's all-time European scoring mark with 38 goals.

Real Madrid

Van Nistelrooy with team-mates celebrating a goal against Bayern Munich

On 14 July 2006, Ferguson confirmed that van Nistelrooy wanted to leave Manchester United, and Real Madrid announced on 27 July 2006 that van Nistelrooy was transferring to Real (there had been speculation about a possible move to Bayern Munich).[3] His transfer fee was reported to be €18 million (£12.3m), and he signed a 3-year contract with the club on 28 July.

In his second match in the Spanish Primera División, van Nistelrooy scored a hat-trick against newly promoted Levante UD. He scored 2 goals on a Real Madrid 5-1 win over Dynamo Kyiv in the first group stage of the UEFA Champions League. During the el clasico match on 22 October 2006, van Nistelrooy scored 7 minutes into the second half to help defeat league champions FC Barcelona. On 12 November 2006, he scored all four of Real Madrid's goals in a 4-1 win against CA Osasuna. Van Nistelrooy also scored on 10 February 2007, against Real Sociedad in a 2-1 win. And on 10 March 2007, van Nistelrooy scored 2 goals against Barcelona, increasing his tally against Barcelona to 3 goals in 2 games. On April 21 he scored a volley in a match against Valencia where Real Madrid won 2-1. Furthermore, on May 6, he scored 2 out of the 3 goals of his team against Sevilla. In the next match, against RCD Espanyol, Real Madrid were trailing 0-2 when van Nistelrooy scored Real Madrid's opener and they won 4-3, with the winner coming from Gonzalo Higuaín in the 89th minute. In Real's penultimate game, away at Real Zaragoza, twice van Nistelrooy brought Madrid back level, notably scrambling home in the dying minutes. In the same minute as van Nistelrooy's second goal, Raul Tamudo equalised for RCD Espanyol against Barcelona and Sevilla drew 0-0 at Real Mallorca, ensuring that Real Madrid went into the last match at the top of the table. Real Madrid went on to win the 2006/2007 La Liga title on the final day of the season, with a 3-1 win. Van Nistelrooy finished top scorer in his first season with the club (see Pichichi Trophy) with 25 goals, and equalling the longest consecutive scoring streak in La Liga history by hitting the target in seven straight matches; a feat only achieved by Hugo Sanchez[4]. Ruud van Nistelrooy was voted as the Best Signing, Best Player, Best Striker and as the author of the Best Goal of last season by over 140,000 users in a survey published by As.com. Real Madrid was chosen as Best Team of the campaign.[citation needed]

Van Nistelrooy getting off a plane with Real Madrid

Ruud scored his first league goal for the new season against Villarreal CF that got Real Madrid in first place in the league for the defending champions. On 18 September Van Nistelrooy scored the winning goal against Werder Bremen, as well as setting up a Raúl header in the 16th minute, to give Real Madrid the 3 points of the group stages in the UEFA Champions League. On October 3rd he scored two goals against Lazio in the second match in the group stages. On November 11, Van Nistelrooy gives Real Madrid the victory against Mallorca making Real Madrid first in the league. Against Levante, Ruud managed to scored 2 goals in the last 15 minutes giving Real Madrid 3 more points, making a difference of 7 points with Barcelona.

Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy has extended his current contract until 2010, keeping him in the Spanish capital until one day before his 34th birthday.

In 2007, Van Nistelrooy was selected as a nominee for the FIFA World Player of the Year.

National team

Prior to the Netherlands' opening Euro 2004 match against Germany, he stated that emotions would be intensified by lingering resentfulness over World War II.[citation needed] He and the Czech Republic's Milan Baroš were the only players to score in all three group stage matches.

Van Nistelrooy played in the 2006 World Cup, for which he served as the official FIFA/SOS ambassador.[5] He was substituted in all three group stage matches, and scored against the Ivory Coast. He was dropped for the Netherlands' knockout stage loss against Portugal.

Van Nistelrooy training with the Netherlands

Netherlands coach Marco van Basten left van Nistelrooy off the squad for a friendly against the Republic of Ireland.[6] Dirk Kuyt replaced van Nistelrooy in their next match against Portugal.[7] After Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was injured and unavailable for upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus, van Nistelrooy rejected van Basten's request to take his place on the roster.

Van Nistelrooy in Germany during the World Cup.

On 23 January 2007, van Nistelrooy announced his retirement from international football.[8] However, he has been quoted as saying he would like to represent the Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, after several phone conversations, van Nistelrooy and van Basten restored the peace between them and the latter announced on 25 May 2007, that van Nistelrooy would return to the Oranje and that they would work together again.[9][10] Confirming this fact, van Nistelrooy was among the 33-player provisional squad, and then confirmed among the 20-player definitive squad, for a friendly match between the Netherlands and Switzerland, which took place on 22 August 2007.[11][12] On September 8, 2007, Van Nistelrooy scored in his first competitive international match back from retirement in the Euro 2008 Qualifying 2-0 home win over Bulgaria[13], and only four days later scored the winning goal in injury time of the Netherlands's away clash with Albania.

Van Nistelrooy was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.[14]

Personal life

Van Nistelrooy married his girlfriend, Leontine Slaats, in July 2004. The couple had their first child, a girl named Moa Annette on 26 September 2006.[15][16][17]

Statistics

Club

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Domestic League Domestic Cup League Cup European Competition Total
App Goals App Goals App  Goals App Goals App Goals
FC Den
Bosch 		93-94 2 0 - - 0 0 2 0
94-95 15 3 - - 0 0 15 3
95-96 21 2 - - 0 0 21 2
96-97 31 12 - - 0 0 31 12
Total 69 17 - - 0 0 69 17
SC
Heerenveen 		97-98 31 13 - - 0 0 31 13
Total 31 13 - - 0 0 31 13
PSV
Eindhoven 		98-99 34 31 - - 7 6 41 37
99-00 23 29 - - 8 3 31 32
00-01 10 2 - - 0 0 10 2
Total 67 62 - - 15 9 82 71
Manchester
United 		01-02 32 23 1 2 1 1 11 10 45 36
02-03 33 25 3 4 4 1 10 14 50 44
03-04 30 20 3 6 1 0 7 4 41 30
04-05 17 6 3 2 0 0 6 8 26 16
05-06 28 21 2 0 1 1 8 2 39 24
Total 140 95 12 14 7 3 42 38 201 150
Real Madrid 06-07 38 25 1 2 - - 7 6 46 33
07-08 21 12 1 0 - - 7 4 29 16
Total 59 37 2 2 - - 14 10 75 49
Career Totals 366 224 14 16 7 3 71 57 458 300

National team

All-Time National Team Performance
National Team Year Friendlies International
Competition 		Total
App Goals App Goals App  Goals
Netherlands 1998 1 0 0 0 1 0
1999 8 1 0 0 8 1
2000 1 0 0 0 1 0
2001 2 1 5 6 7 7
2002 3 1 1 0 4 1
2003 2 0 6 5 8 5
2004 4 0 7 6 11 6
2005 1 0 8 5 9 5
2006 2 2 3 1 5 3
2007 1 0 4 2 5 2
Total 25 5 34 25 59 30

Awards and honours

Club

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Man Utd clinch Van Nistelrooy deal". BBC Sport Website. 23 April, 2001. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "The facts behind Ruud's walk-out". Setanta Sports. 2006-05-10. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Real Madrid sign Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy". Reuters UK. 2006-07-27. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Van Nistelrooy goals rescue Real". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  5. ^ "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages Ambassadors". SOS Children's Villages. 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Van Basten drops Van Nistelrooy". The Australian. 2006-08-12. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Van Nistelrooij haalt uit naar bondscoach" (in Dutch). nos.nl. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Van Nistelrooy in Dutch decision". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-01-23. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Ruud to make Holland return". home.skysports.com. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2007-05-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Ruud primed for Dutch return". RTÉ Sport. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 2007-05-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Holland to make Ruud awakening". home.skysports.com. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Van Nistelrooy en Van Persie terug in Oranje". www.vi.nl. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ uefa.com - UEFA EURO 2008™ - Fixtures & Results - Match Specific
  14. ^ "Ruud van Nistelrooy". The FIFA 100. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  15. ^ "New father Van Nistelrooy rejoins Real squad". Yahoo! Sport. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Proud dad Ruud set for Real berth". CNN.com. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Van Nistelrooy happy". RealMadrid.com. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-09-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Template:Commons2

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dutch Footballer of the Year
1998 – 2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by PFA Players' Player of the Year
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by PFA Fans' Player of the Year (Premiership)
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UEFA Champions League Best Forward
2002 – 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Dutch Eredivisie Topscorer
1998 – 2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Premier League top scorer
2002 – 2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Spanish League top scorer
2006 – 2007 		Succeeded by
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