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Ruud van Nistelrooy has scored 6 goals in 3 appearances for Hamburg already this season, helping his club achieve maximum points.
He has been asked whether he found it hard leaving Real Madrid for Germany, but Ruud has revealed that leaving United was more difficult.
“It was harder to leave Manchester United,” said Ruud. “That was my club, like PSV and Den Bosch. Real Madrid was different. I had a tremendous time there and a warm relationship with the fans, but Real is more business like. I had a reason to go and they had a reason to allow me. That’s all good. With Manchester, I had that thing with Sir Alex Ferguson and that hurt. That was emotional. For him too, I suppose. I didn’t have that emotional layer with Real. But I look back at my period there with great joy and pride and some of my best mates were there. I count Guti, Raul and Casillas as good friends and playing with Beckham is always a thrill.”
(Source: therepublikofmancunia.com)
He has been asked whether he found it hard leaving Real Madrid for Germany, but Ruud has revealed that leaving United was more difficult.
“It was harder to leave Manchester United,” said Ruud. “That was my club, like PSV and Den Bosch. Real Madrid was different. I had a tremendous time there and a warm relationship with the fans, but Real is more business like. I had a reason to go and they had a reason to allow me. That’s all good. With Manchester, I had that thing with Sir Alex Ferguson and that hurt. That was emotional. For him too, I suppose. I didn’t have that emotional layer with Real. But I look back at my period there with great joy and pride and some of my best mates were there. I count Guti, Raul and Casillas as good friends and playing with Beckham is always a thrill.”
(Source: therepublikofmancunia.com)
Talking Football: He famously never scored a goal hit from outside the box for United, although that wrongly suggests he never scored spectacular goals
As Ruud van Nistelrooy completes the last transfer of his career this week he will surely reflect that, as a striker who has scored so many goals in his career, he has not won as much as his talent deserved.
The right man in the right place at the wrong time – the story of Van Nistelrooy's life. At Manchester United he scored 150 goals in 219 games but his five years there fell between two epic eras at the club and all Van Nistelrooy had to show for it was one Premier League medal and one FA Cup winners' medal. Less talented players at Old Trafford have won much more than Van Nistelrooy ever did.
At Real Madrid his luck was slightly better. There he won two league titles but, for the most part, his time coincided with arguably the greatest Barcelona team ever. Just as his years at United coincided with the greatest Chelsea team of all time and an Arsenal team that was arguably the club's best ever.
To complain about winning only three league titles in England and Spain might seem ungrateful but the big players measure out their success by the big prizes and Van Nistelrooy never got close to winning the Champions League. He is the competition's second-highest goalscorer of all time and has never been further than the semi-finals.
Last night at the Bernabeu he was due to be on the pitch before the game against Malaga so the Madrid fans could give their thanks for the 64 goals he has scored in 97 games for their club. He is leaving just as another galactico era gets going, replaced by the same player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who edged him out of Old Trafford. For the second time, Van Nistelrooy is the man getting his coat just as the party kicks off.
As he departs for Hamburg, and the relative backwaters of a club fifth in the Bundesliga, Van Nistelrooy can say he played for two of Europe's greatest clubs. He just had the misfortune to be there at a time when neither were at their best.
Because he left United under a cloud, and because he played during a lean period in the club's history, Van Nistelrooy's contribution to United can be overlooked. Yet he is ninth on United's all-time goalscorers' list and has a better goals-to-games ratio than any of those above him, including the prolific Dennis Viollet.
Van Nistelrooy joined United in the summer of 2001, as much of the United team that won the 1999 Champions League and three straight Premier League titles was broken up by Sir Alex Ferguson. Van Nistelrooy would have had a league-winners' medal from the 2000-01 season had his knee not given way a year earlier when he was about to join United.
That year's delay summed up Van Nistelrooy's bad luck at United. He was too late for the glory days of the treble, too early for the three most recent titles and the Champions League victory in Moscow in 2008. An era was being wound down. Andy Cole, Nicky Butt, Roy Keane and David Beckham left. In the midst of it, Van Nistelrooy's goals dragged United to the title in 2003, despite Arsenal's dominance.
For all the garlands laid at the feet of Ronaldo – with whom Van Nistelrooy had a row that hastened his exit – his goalscoring record was nothing like that of Van Nistelrooy. Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games for United, averaging one every 2.8 games compared to Van Nistelrooy's average of one every 1.46 games. Van Nistelrooy, a poacher, was not as exciting or original as Ronaldo, but for four of his five years his contribution was just as crucial.
He famously never scored a goal hit from outside the box for United, although that wrongly suggests he never scored spectacular goals. The second goal in his hat-trick against Fulham in March 2003 began in his own half and took him past four Fulham defenders before he scored from close range. His second goal against Basle in November 2002 wasn't too shabby either.
Van Nistelrooy played in a United team that was in decline, rather than the new one built around Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo that got into gear in the 2006-07 season. Van Nistelrooy joined United the same summer as Juan Sebastian Veron and two years before Ronaldo's arrival which, lest we forget, coincided with Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson joining the club.
Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, two crucial components of the latest great United side, did not join until 2006 shortly before the Carling Cup final in February of that year for which Van Nistelrooy was dropped. When the same happened against Charlton on the last day of the season, he walked out.
The inside story of Ferguson's falling-out with Van Nistelrooy will be just another fascinating part of the next volume of Ferguson's memoirs. In four out of his five seasons at United, Van Nistelrooy was the top goalscorer – in 2004-05, when he came second to Rooney, he was injured for three months. In those four seasons he finished fourth, first, third and second in the Premier League goalscorers' list.
When it came to replacing Van Nistelrooy, United attempted to sign Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid, but never really pushed hard enough. Funnily enough, it is Torres who must look at the example of Van Nistelrooy and wonder if he is doomed to the same fate. That of spending your best years at a great club in a bad patch.
Predictable fury follows Fowler's idyll
Friday: Robbie Fowler on his new career in Australia with the Queensland Fury. "I only ever wear shorts and T-shirt and my problem is fiddling with the air conditioning. Where would you rather be?
"Something that really appealed to me was being in on the start of a brand new team going into the top division of a league. That is very unusual and it has been the chance to make a bit of history and learn a few things."
Saturday: Fowler puts his future in doubt by refusing to start on the bench against Brisbane Roar. Can anyone guess which way this one is heading?
A blunder of Olympic proportions
West Ham's new owners have done a good job of lowering the supporters' expectations since they took over. They have put the boot into the old regime, painting a picture of dire mismanagement and a £110m debt.
Although, for all the mistakes of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, at least he never considered renaming them "West Ham Olympic" – an idea raised by new vice-chairman Karren Brady on Saturday which, if pursued, will make the new regime as unpopular as the one they have spent the last week trashing.
Déjà vu for Wenger?
A great chance to win the FA Cup went begging for Arsenal yesterday. It was their elimination to Manchester United two years ago that caused the wheels to come off in their Premier League title bid.
(Source: independent.co.uk)
Rooney, 24, has struggled on the pitch in recent months after an ankle injury and accusations about his private life stole the spotlight. The England international has looked a shadow of the player who grabbed 34 goals in all competitions last term and was substituted after an hour in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Van Nistelrooy was convinced Rooney can "handle" the attention and come back stronger.
He said: "The players I played with at United were always focused. They still are.
"He can [handle it]. He's proved it."
The Hamburg hot shot continued: "I think that the most important thing for a footballer is that you focus on the game.
"That's obviously the main thing. In England there is the press that looks into other parts as well.
"That doesn't happen in other countries really. You get judged by your performance on the pitch and that's how it should be.
"I think that's the way it should be. You have to live with that if you play in England."
There are some best goals of Ruud for MU
Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed he was on the verge of signing for Bayern Munich before his switch to Real Madrid in 2006.
Van Nistelrooy ended a five-year association with Manchester United in July 2006 when he moved to the Bernabeu in a €24 million deal, but it appears he had been set for a move to the Bundesliga.
“In 2006, after the World Cup, we were in very advanced negotiations about a move,” he told Bild. “If Real Madrid had not come in, I would have gone to Munich.
“It was difficult to get out of the Bayern move at that stage. I personally called up (Uli) Hoeness, apologised and said, ‘I know we have come so far, but I need to join Real’. In retrospect, the time in Madrid was a great experience in my life.”
Van Nistelrooy did move to Germany when he left Madrid for Hamburg in January. He says he is enjoying life under coach Armin Veh but, with his deal due to expire next summer, he is making no promises about staying beyond the end of the season.
“In February or March, a decision will need to be made,” he said. “At the moment, things are going well and I feel good.
“I want to wait a couple of months and then reevaluate the situation. The most important factor is how I’m feeling.”
Now 34, Van Nistelrooy is reaching the end of his playing career and says he may walk away from the game altogether when he hangs up his boots.
“I don’t expect to stay in football,” he said. “I can’t imagine working as a coach right now, but you never know. My former national team-mate Jaap Stam never intended to be a coach, and he’s now working as an assistant in the Dutch second division (at FC Zwolle).”
(Soure: soccernet.espn.go.com )
Van Nistelrooy ended a five-year association with Manchester United in July 2006 when he moved to the Bernabeu in a €24 million deal, but it appears he had been set for a move to the Bundesliga.
“In 2006, after the World Cup, we were in very advanced negotiations about a move,” he told Bild. “If Real Madrid had not come in, I would have gone to Munich.
“It was difficult to get out of the Bayern move at that stage. I personally called up (Uli) Hoeness, apologised and said, ‘I know we have come so far, but I need to join Real’. In retrospect, the time in Madrid was a great experience in my life.”
Van Nistelrooy did move to Germany when he left Madrid for Hamburg in January. He says he is enjoying life under coach Armin Veh but, with his deal due to expire next summer, he is making no promises about staying beyond the end of the season.
“In February or March, a decision will need to be made,” he said. “At the moment, things are going well and I feel good.
“I want to wait a couple of months and then reevaluate the situation. The most important factor is how I’m feeling.”
Now 34, Van Nistelrooy is reaching the end of his playing career and says he may walk away from the game altogether when he hangs up his boots.
“I don’t expect to stay in football,” he said. “I can’t imagine working as a coach right now, but you never know. My former national team-mate Jaap Stam never intended to be a coach, and he’s now working as an assistant in the Dutch second division (at FC Zwolle).”
(Soure: soccernet.espn.go.com )
Van Nistelrooy playing for Manchester United against Chelsea.Van Nistelrooy signed a five-year contract after passing his medical. He downplayed United's £19 million investment to reporters, saying "The price is not heavy for me - it lifts me up because it means United have big confidence in me." During his first season, Van Nistelrooy scored 23 goals in 32 league games, ending the year on a league record eight-game consecutive scoring streak. The following season, he broke the record of the previous mark of seven he shared with Mark Stein, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry. He also scored 10 Champions League goals, and was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year. He finished as the top Premier League scorer with 25 in 34 games, including three hat-tricks, and he ended the season on another eight-game scoring streak.
He started the 2003–04 season by scoring twice in his first two league matches, which boosted his consecutive games record to 10. He scored his 100th goal for the club in a 4–3 victory over Everton on 7 February 2004. He scored two goals, one a penalty, in United's victory over Millwall in the 2004 FA Cup Final.
Van Nistelrooy missed most of the 2004–05 season due to injury, but nonetheless scored a Champions League-best eight goals. One of them was his thirtieth career European goal, which he scored in a 2–2 Champions League group stage draw with Lyon on 16 September 2004, overtaking Denis Law's previous club record of 28 goals. Law later said to reporters, "I'm delighted for Ruud. It could not happen to a nicer guy." Manchester United were eliminated by eventual finalists Milan in the knockout stage after going scoreless in both legs.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, Van Nistelrooy scored in United's first four Premier League games. He finished as the second-highest league scorer with 21 goals, behind Arsenal's Thierry Henry. By the end of his fifth season with United, Van Nistelrooy had amassed 150 goals in fewer than 200 starts.
Van Nistelrooy shields the ball during a match against Tottenham Hotspur.Van Nistelrooy was benched for the League Cup final against Wigan Athletic, fuelling speculation of a rift between him and coach Alex 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 line-up and scored match-winners against West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers, fresh doubt spread over Van Nistelrooy's future when he was benched for United's season finale win over Charlton Athletic. 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 team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Van Nistelrooy allegedly criticised Ronaldo's tendency to hold onto the ball instead of passing to his team-mates, which sparked the fight, after which Van Nistelrooy remarked, "Go crying 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.
Van Nistelrooy signed with Spanish side Real Madrid on 28 July 2006, departing Manchester United after five seasons with a total of 150 goals in 220 appearances, as well as the club's all-time European scoring record with 38 goals
Soure : Wikipedia
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