Ruud injury doubt

The FA Cup Semi-Final Arsenal v Manchester United 03 April 2004 Villa Park, 12.00pm

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"Ruud is a serious doubt," said Sir Alex Ferguson, who also has Louis Saha out as the Frenchman is cup-tied.

"It is looking very doubtful for him at the moment," Ferguson added. "All we can do is hope there will be a change over the next 24 hours.

"It would be a bitter blow for us if he was to miss out, because he is the man who can win us the game."

Such is his prolific goalscoring, Van Nistelrooy is one of the most important players at Old Trafford these days. We take a closer look at the Dutch master...

As well as winning as many trophies as possible during his stay at Old Trafford, it is equally important to Ruud van Nistelrooy to leave an enduring legacy at Manchester United. "When I do eventually go," he says, "I would at least like the fans to think 'He was OK'".

The Dutchman need not worry. The fans do think he is OK. In fact, they think rather more of him than that. Describing van Nistelrooy’s career at Old Trafford so far as ‘OK’ would be like saying the Mona Lisa is a decent painting or Mozart had a few good tunes.

In less than three seasons, Ruud van Nistelrooy has established himself as arguably United’s greatest ever striker. The two goals he scored in the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham brought his total at United to a staggering 106 goals in 137 appearances.

Only Denis Law has reached a century of goals for the club at a quicker rate. "In years to come," says Sir Alex Ferguson, "we could well be unveiling a statue of Ruud at Old Trafford. That's how good he is."

"Ruud van Nistelrooy has got the potential to be better than any United striker except Denis Law," says the former United great Paddy Crerand. "Well, maybe even him too. Denis was incredible in the box, but van Nistelrooy is similarly electric, plus he can beat players. I get excited just thinking about watching him."

But at the beginning of his career van Nistelrooy was certainly not an exciting child prodigy. He took the long route to Old Trafford.

Born on the same day as Patrick Kluivert in July 1976, van Nistelrooy was playing in the Dutch First Division for Den Bosch, while his future international team-mate was scoring the winning goal for Ajax in the 1995 European Cup Final. "Patrick was on top of the world from the very start of his career, while I was in the shadows," he says. "I had to be patient."

After four years at Den Bosch, Heerenveen in the Dutch top flight signed him for £300,000 in the summer of 1997.

It was there that the renowned coach Foppe de Hann began to mould van Nistelrooy into a clinical striker. "Foppe said one of the nicest things any coach has said about me," says van Nistelrooy.

"He told the press, 'You know Ruud has the same feeling in his feet that other people have in their hands'. He told me, 'Ruud, you can be a great player'. And then I realised, maybe I can. That was the changing moment."

A return of 13 goals in 31 appearances was enough to persuade PSV Eindhoven to part with £4.2 million, then a Dutch record transfer, for him on his 22nd birthday in 1998.

For the following two seasons at the Phillips stadium, van Nistelrooy simply couldn’t stop scoring as he racked up 60 goals in 57 appearances. The architect of Total Football, the legendary Dutch coach Rinus Michels was even moved to compare him to Holland’s greatest ever striker, Marco van Basten.

Scouts from all the top European sides flocked to watch him, but it was Manchester United who pounced first with a British record bid of £18.5 million in April 2000.

On his way to be unveiled at Old Trafford, however, van Nistelrooy took a call to tell him the deal had collapsed because United were worried about a knee injury he was carrying. Just two days later he snapped his cruciate ligament in the same knee to rule him out of action for a year.

Sir Alex Ferguson refused to abandon van Nistelrooy, and instead offered support and encouragement throughout his rehabilitation. Only a few games into his playing comeback a year later, Ferguson kept his word and fought off a late bid from Real Madrid to sign the striker.

Van Nistelrooy now acknowledges the injury helped to make him the player he is now. "My body changed completely," he says. "It's a different posture. That helped me a lot, if I look back. I became stronger and faster."

This new and improved model was let loose on English football at the start of the 2001-02 season. He scored twice on his Premiership debut and for the next nine months didn’t bother pausing for breath.

He scored 36 goals in all; became the first player to score in eight consecutive Premiership games and was voted the PFA’s Player of the Year. It wasn’t enough, however, to win any silverware for his new club.

At the start of last season, the Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said he believed van Nistelrooy had been "found out." The Dutchman thought that comment didn’t make any sense. He was right. It made even less sense by the end of the season.

Van Nistelrooy scored a mammoth 44 goals to establish himself as the top scorer in both the Premiership and the Champions League.

This time, his late surge of 15 goals in 10 games helped United overtake Arsenal and lift the Premiership trophy. "There were times when he took my breath away," said his team-mate Ryan Giggs.

The Dutchman has continued to plunder the goals this season. By the middle of March, he had scored 26, helping him to pass his century for United, equal Denis Law’s record total in Europe and even break his own record for goals in consecutive Premiership games.

Worryingly for defenders, Sir Alex Ferguson believes he is yet to even reach his peak. "He can definitely improve over these next few years," he says. "He's got the appetite."

You can read more about this season's FA Cup Semi-Finals in the two official match-day programmes. To buy your copy, go to either of the below sites...

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