The Hindu : Sport / Football : Nistelrooy times it right

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

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Sport - Football

Nistelrooy times it right

By Tom Merton

LONDON, JUNE 9. This season has probably been the toughest at Manchester United for Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy since his $34 million move to the English Premier League giant in April 2001.

A series of niggling injuries combined with persistent rumours that he may be sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona has yet to get into his imperious stride this year.

Van Nistelrooy went five games without a goal before equalising against Chelsea in the penultimate game of the season but seems to be finally returning to form at just the right time for this summer's Euro 2004 tournament. The Dutchman also has the advantage of being fresher than normal, thanks to his enforced breaks, andshould be able to concentrate fully on the job in hand — helping The Netherlands become the champion.

Born in Oss in the southern Netherlands, van Nistelrooy's striking ability first came to light during his time with Dutch first division side Heerenveen.

Van Nistelrooy moved to PSV Eindhoven in 1998 on his 22nd birthday for a fee in the region of $7.5 million and he made his international debut in November that year against Germany. He finished his first season with 31 goals and was voted Dutch Player of the Year by his fellow professionals. With another 29 goals following in the 1999/2000 season, it was no surprise when Manchester United came knocking on his door.

The proposed transfer in April 2000 failed to go through as van Nistelrooy collapsed in training with serious cruciate ligament damage to his right knee, causing the player to also miss Euro 2000, which was jointly hosted by his native country and Belgium.

United coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, however, kept in touch with van Nistelrooy, promising to sign the player as soon as he had recovered from the career-threatening injury. A year later, van Nistelrooy completed his big money move to United, despite late interest from Real Madrid.

With an incredible 36 goals in his debut season followed by another 44 in 2002/2003, van Nistelrooy has quickly established himself as one of United's greatest ever strikers. Now in Euro 2004 in Portugal, he has the chance to put himself in hearts of Dutch fans along with his idol Dennis Bergkamp and the legendary Marco van Basten. — DPA

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