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Biography for Ruud Van Nistelrooy
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| First Name: | Ruud | | Middle Name: | Van | | Last Name: | Nistelrooy | | Nickname: | | |
Birth Date:
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July 1, 1976 |
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Death Date:
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Briefly
Dutch football player who who first rose to fame in the 1990s. |
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Born in Oss, in the south-central region of the Netherlands, Ruud van Nistelrooy became interested in sport as a schoolboy.
A real talent, he played football, tennis and gymnastics. As a boy in his village team he played as a sweeper, but his footballing career took off in 1993, when he moved to the then Second Division side FC Den Bosch. Here, at his first professional club, he was able to show off his developing skills, playing up front behind the forward line.
After four years gaining experience, Ruud van Nistelrooy progressed into the Dutch First Division with SC Heerenveen, where he became a real striker. His new coach told him that he needed to improve his game, and in order to do so he should go and watch Dennis Bergkamp play. Van Nistelrooy would drive 200 kilometres on his own to watch Bergkamp and studied every detail; every move, every touch of the ball, every run he made. It began to pay off and Ruud was rewarded with 13 goals from 30 appearances.
On his 22nd birthday, van Nistelrooy signed for PSV Eindhoven for �4.2 million, a record transfer between Dutch clubs. He made an immediate impact, scoring his first League goal for PSV against his former Club in the August.
By the end of October, Ruud made his presence known when he scored a hat-trick for PSV against Sparta. He was in such good form that, on 18th November 1998, he made his international debut for Holland in a 1-1 draw with Germany.
At the end of his first season, in May 1999, he finished as top scorer in the Dutch League with 31 goals, and earned himself second place in the European Golden Boot rankings. He was also voted Dutch Player of the Year by his fellow professionals.
Van Nistelrooy gained an awesome scoring record with PSV, netting 60 goals during the two seasons he was playing. In the 1999/2000 season he scored two hat-tricks against Ajax, and after the second one, in Eindhoven, he said he hadn been playing that well. |
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