In the summer of 2001 a young Dutch striker arrived at Manchester United. The young man arrived a year late due to injury but would prove to be more than worth the wait.
That young man was Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooy. Nobody could have foreseen the phenomenal impact this young player would have when he signed from PSV Eindhoven but in the 5 seasons Ruud spent with us he took the Premier League and European football by storm.
No striker since has been able to replicate the incredible form of van Nistelrooy who broke countless records during his United tenure. During his first season alone the Dutchman scored an incredible 23 goals in 32 league apperances as he scored 36 goals in all competitions.
As if this feat wasn’t enough he also managed to break the consecutive goal scoring records of world class strikers Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry by scoring in 8 consecutive games, racked up 10 Champions League goals and was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
Far from struggling with ‘second season syndrome’ the following year he went from strength to strength scoring 25 goals in 34 league games, a feat that included 3 hat-tricks and ended the season on yet another incredible 8 game consecutive scoring streak.
Van Nistelrooy then kick started the 2004/04 season by scoring in both the first and second league games taking his consecutive run up to 10 games in a row. That season saw Ruud bring his century of goals for the club, a figure few players ever reach during their whole career let alone at one club.
He also played an integral role in United’s successful FA Cup run which culminated in a 3-0 Cup final victory over Milwall. Ruud added 2 goals to Christiano Ronaldo’s firt half strike to secure his second winner’s medal for the club
However, the best of Ruud’s days at United began to draw to a close and Ruud missed most of the 2004/05 season due to injury. When he did return from injury he wasn’t quite the same player and his season was one of frustration. Despite this he still managed to score 8 Champions League goals, overtaking United legend Denis Law’s European goal club record of 28 goals with a career total of 30.
Ruud’s final year with the club was to be the 2005/06 season. The season was overshadowed at times with speculation that a rift had arisen between the Dutchman and Sir Alex and Ruud. Due to the form of Louis Saha in the second half of the season Ruud spent many key games on the bench, including the League Cup Final against Wigan Athletic and the season finale against Charlton.
Van Nistelrooy ended the season with 21 goals, a figure that took his United goal scoring record to a phenomenal 150 goals in 220 appearances. In the summer of 2006, five years after his arrival at United, van Nistelrooy signed a three year contract with Real Madrid.
Since Van Nistelrooy’s departure Sir Alex has failed tried and failed many times to find a replacement. Many strikers have been and gone including the likes of Saha, Carlos Tevez and Guiseppe Rossi but they have never been able to fully live up to the legacy set by Ruud.
Wayne Rooney is a world class player but has struggled to maintain his form due to injuries and the constant distraction of media intrusion which sadly he’s had to deal with since his time at Everton. Of course in the last couple of season we have begun to see Wayne take his chances clinically in the same manner that Ruud did.
Michael Owen, an England legend, and on a personal note my childhood hero, can always be relied on to perform but at 31 he often makes his best impact from the bench. Dimitar Berbatov who signed from Tottenham in 2008 has also failed to find his form, a quality player but only on his day.
Van Nistelrooy has been heralded by many as the best of his generation and he has the records to prove it. The fact that some of the best strikers in the world have been unable to fill his boots again supports this claim.
Now we must turn to the new generation of young strikers such as Chicarito, Kiko Macheda and Danny Welbeck in hope that one may prove to be the ‘best of their generation’ because one thing is certain there was no better than the Ruud.
