Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

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Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

Ruud van Nistelrooy is not a man who requires any introduction to football fans.

2024-11-29T18:58+00:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

29 Nov, 2024

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

Ruud van Nistelrooy is not a man who requires any introduction to football fans.

Sam Stevens

2024-11-29T18:58+00:00

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

Ruud van Nistelrooy is not a man who requires any introduction to football fans.

Sam Stevens

2024-11-29T18:58+00:00

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

Ruud van Nistelrooy is not a man who requires any introduction to football fans.

Sam Stevens

2024-11-29T18:58+00:00

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Profiling City’s New Manager

Ruud van Nistelrooy is not a man who requires any introduction to football fans.

Sam Stevens

2024-11-29T18:58+00:00

The new Leicester City Manager, appointed on Friday, is a legend of the modern game, renowned in England for his goals-laden spell at Manchester United, but indeed around the world also for his fearsome talents as a player.

Indeed, City fans of a certain vintage will recall his devastating performance on Filbert Way back in September 2003. His hat-trick on that occasion, over two decades ago, swelled a goals tally which would eventually extend to 95 in the Premier League.

Life started, for Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij, in the Dutch municipality of Oss back in the summer of 1976. Before long, as an aspiring teenager, he was making his first strides in the game with Eerste Divisie side Den Bosch. He was a central midfielder back then, but a conversion to forward set him on a path to acclaim.

Frisian outfit Heerenveen was his next stop, for a single year in 1997/98, earning real admiration at a higher level with a respectable 13 goals. PSV Eindhoven, mind you, fired their tractor beam the following summer and were able to pull van Nistelrooy away from Heerenveen’s clutches. The reported €6M transfer fee was a record transaction between two Dutch clubs at the time and perhaps represented a gamble for PSV, even despite Ruud’s rising star in his home country.

The man making that call was none other than Sir Bobby Robson, the legendary former Ipswich Town, Barcelona and England manager, in his second PSV stint. Having coached the likes of Foxes icon Gary Lineker and O Fenômeno, Ronaldo, Robson knew a striker when he saw one. By the end of his debut year in Eindhoven, van Nistelrooy was the newly-crowned Dutch Footballer of the Year, with 31 goals in 34 matches.

Sir Alex Ferguson, a friend of Robson’s, was confident van Nistelrooy could hack it at Old Trafford. After watching from afar as the Dutchman hit another 29 goals the following campaign, the Scotsman made his move. Due to fitness concerns, though, he would have to wait another season before getting his man. Ferguson wasn’t put off by the knee injury which curtailed the striker’s third season at PSV and, in 2001, van Nistelrooy was being unveiled as the next jewel in Man Utd’s crown.

Some players take time to settle in England, but not the Red Devils’ new No.10. Twenty-three goals, including a record eight-goal scoring streak, and 10 in the UEFA Champions League was a worthy introduction for the man Ferguson was pinning his hopes on. There was a mesmeric quality to his playing style, with gangly legs which could get to any high ball, an eye for the right pass and, of course, an uncanny ability to find the net. Premier League defenders didn’t really stand a chance.

The PFA Player of the Year added the Golden Boot the next season, boosted by three hat-tricks, thrusting United to the title with a goal in each of their final eight games. Another 12 strikes in the Champions League, on the other hand, saw UEFA formally acknowledge the Dutchman as the best striker in the entire continent.

The 2003/04 season was when van Nistelrooy embarked on the 10-game scoring streak which would, many assumed, hold the record forever. His new Foxes No.9, Jamie Vardy, had something to say about that nine years ago. Skipping forward a year, it was van Nistelrooy’s opening strike which helped the Red Devils end Arsenal’s invincible run, subjecting Arsène Wenger’s men to defeat after 49 games unbeaten.

In total, he netted 150 goals for Man Utd, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield each on a single occasion. Fans of England’s top flight will recall many classic RvN moments and his telepathy with David Beckham in particular. But when Real Madrid came calling, the opportunity to reunite with Beckham, albeit only for a single year, and to become a Galáctico proved tempting.

More silverware naturally followed, scooping the Pichichi award during his maiden campaign in the Spanish capital, with another 25 goals. The La Liga title was won too and a goal in the El Clásico derby against Barcelona – after a rough injury lay-off – further endeared him to the Madridistas. More fitness concerns, though, would require the services of specialist Richard Steadman in America. His time in Spain was dented by occasional injuries, but van Nistelrooy was still able to rack up 64 goals in 96 outings at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Another La Liga crown followed in 2007/08, alongside the Supercopa de España, as well.

A playing career of distinction included 70 caps, along with 35 goals on the international stage, and would end with spells at both German side Hamburger SV and Málaga, back in Spain. After a glittering playing career – where he was once the top goalscorer in three different European domestic leagues – coaching came calling in 2013. Spells with the PSV youth teams, from under-17 to under-19 level, bookended a time as Guus Hiddink’s assistant, later also serving Ronald Koeman. In March 2022, Roger Schmidt’s departure from PSV, then led to an emotional step up to a senior management position at a club which clearly meant a great deal to the legendary former striker.

Although Feyenoord would pip the Rood-witten to the Eredivisie title, triumphs in the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield gave van Nistelrooy a victorious start to life in the dugout. More recently, of course, the 48-year-old was recruited as an assistant to Erik ten Haag at Manchester United, although he would quickly assume managerial responsibilities, giving the 20-time champions time to pursue Ruben Amorim. He was handed four games to steady the Old Trafford ship – two against his new employers – and an unbeaten caretaker stint ultimately helped calm nerves and build bridges.

His remit is now more wide-ranging, as the Dutchman prepares for life as Leicester City’s new Manager, signing a contract until June 2027 at King Power Stadium. An exciting blend of football pedigree and potential, a new challenge awaits.

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