New Delhi: Manchester United and Netherlands legend Ruud van Nistelrooy is on the verge of making a return to the team that made him a star and where he spent the best years of his career. The 47-year-old striker had a glorious career where he represented teams like PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid among others.
He announced his retirement as a player in 2012 and joined PSV back in 2013 as a member of the coaching staff of the U-17 side. Having honed his craft in the youth divisions of his former club, Nistelrooy eventually rose the ranks to first manage the PSV U19s in 2018 and eventually became the first team manager in 2022, when he replaced outgoing boss Roger Schmidt.
The former Dutch International had a short yet successful stint as PSV manager in the 2022/23 season, winning the Johan Cryuff Shield and the KNVB Cup in his sole season in charge. He managed the side for 50 games and had a win percentage of almost 65%, which are amazing numbers for a rookie manager but left the side before the final match of the season due to a lack of support from the club.
He had been without a club ever since leaving PSV and was in talks to become the new head coach of the recently relegated Burnley side who are looking for Vincent Kompany’s successor. Burnley seemed to be Nistelrooy’s next destination before Manchester United came calling. The United legend is said to be very tempted by the offer of going back to his former club and being a part of his countryman’s coaching staff. While the move has not yet been made official, it looks like Van Nistelrooy is returning to his old stomping grounds and this could be a great move for both the parties involved.
Why is Ruud van Nistelrooy a Manchester United legend?
Ruud van Nistelrooy averaged about 30 goals a year at United (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Van Nistelrooy joined the club after a successful three-year stint at PSV Eindhoven before the start of the 2001/02 season in a £19 million deal, a British transfer record at the time. Having failed a medical at Old Trafford a year prior, there were some doubts over such a huge move but the Dutch striker put those doubts to bed straight away. Van Nistelrooy went on to score 36 goals in all competitions with the club, being named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
He followed that up with a 44-goal season in 2002/03, scoring 25 goals in the Premier League on his way to the Golden Boot and his maiden Premier League title, while also being named the best striker in Europe by UEFA as he scored 12 goals in the UEFA Champions League in just 9 games. Nistelrooy spent another three seasons at the club helping them win an FA Cup, the Community Shield and a League Cup in that time and left Old Trafford after scoring 150 goals in 219 games for the club.
He is 8th on the list of Manchester United’s all-time top scorers above club legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ole Gunnar Solskjær and has the best minutes per goal ratio amongst the top 10 scorers of the club. He is still the club’s leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League, almost 20 years after he left the club. Without a doubt, Van Nistelrooy is amongst the best strikers to don the iconic Red jersey.
Why his return to Old Trafford makes sense?
Ruud van Nistelrooy could be the key to United’s faltering attack (Photo by Michael Bulder/NESImages/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
The former player’s potential arrival at Old Trafford has brought about a lot of excitement amongst the fans of the club as Van Nistelrooy could be the key to United’s faltering attack recently. First and foremost, the former United striker comes in with a winning mentality as he has been a winner wherever he has played or managed.
After winning four trophies in five years at Manchester United, he joined Real Madrid and won back-to-back La Liga titles with Los Blancos and his list of personal accolades is endless including multiple Player of the Year awards. The current set of Manchester United players need someone who can instil that winning mentality in the team and Nistelrooy can be the perfect man to do that. With this being Ten Hag’s first job since he rose to prominence at Ajax, Ten Hag isn’t the kind of manager with that winning aura yet. Manchester United haven’t had that arguably since Jose Mourinho left the club.
The second thing that can benefit United from Nistelrooy’s arrival is without a doubt, the club’s attack. The Manchester United attack is in need of an overhaul and the Dutchman could be the man to oversee that overhaul. The Red Devils ended the season with a measly 57 goals scored last season, the joint-lowest amongst the teams in the top half of the table and these numbers aren’t acceptable for a club like Manchester United.
Rashford and Hojlund could benefit the most from Nistelrooy’s potential arrival (Photo by Alex Livesey-Danehouse/Getty Images)
Manchester United had two major options in attack last season, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, and both scored less than 10 goals in the Premier League. While we know both these players are capable of much more, Nistelrooy can help them achieve consistency in goal-scoring as this is the same man who once held the record of the longest scoring run in the league, scoring in 10 consecutive games for the club.
According to rumours, United’s priority target in attack is young Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee. Having Van Nistelrooy will help attract the youngster to the club, and the Dutch icon can help develop his countryman who just had a breakthrough season last term.
Not only can he help United’s current attacking options, but he can also develop some of United’s youngsters from the academy. Nistelrooy has coached at the youth level for about 10 years and has experience developing youngsters. Manchester United’s Carrington academy is famed for producing players consistently but there haven’t been any notable strikers that have come out from the academy.
The two academy products that had the most buzz for United as strikers were Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, and both were turned into wingers because of their pace. Even Anothy Martial was a young striker when he joined from Monaco, but was turned into a winger at Old Trafford. Nistelrooy’s involvement can oversee the transition from the academy to the first team and his involvement can make sure strikers are not being converted into wingers anymore.
James Wilson and Federico Macheda are two prime examples of strikers who made noises at the youth level but failed to convert that on the big stage. Nistelrooy’s addition can help United avoid repeating that.
Lastly, another advantage of having Nistelrooy at the club could be in case Erik Tan Hag fails to build on the previous seasons. It was largely expected that Ten Hag would be relieved of his duties after last season and is only in the job due to an FA Cup success and a lack of other realistic options. If the Dutchman fails to perform with the side in the Premier League this year as well, Van Nistelrooy can be called upon to work as a manager as well, since he has previously had a successful stint at PSV as a manager, he could prove to be successful here as well.
The Manchester United legend seems to be heading back to Old Trafford to be a part of Erik Ten Hag’s coaching staff. What could his arrival mean for the club and for Carrington? Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
