The Dutch: Too Nice, Not Ruud Enough

For the majority of his career, he has been a wanted man. 

When PSV Eindhoven paid 6.3 million euros for his services, it was a Dutch-league record for a transfer fee.  Then came his move to Manchester United in 2001, where he broke several records and was named the 2002 PFA Players’ Player of the Year.  In 2006, 24 million euros later, he was suiting up in Bernabeu for Real Madrid.

No matter where Ruud van Nistelrooy went the goals and the success followed.

In the summer of 2008, he would lead the Dutch as they took Europe by storm in the opening stages of the European Championships.  After a 3-1 loss to Russia in the quater-finals, the Dutch exited earlier than many would have expected.   A retirement from international football soon followed for van Nistelrooy.

The Dutch will likely need a happy and healthy van Nistelrooy if they are to be successful in South Africa

But now if the Dutch are to find success in South Africa this summer, it will require van Nistelrooy returning to the orange.

In November 2008, early into the La Liga season, van Nistelrooy suffered a knee injury that would keep him out for quite some time.  The big Dutchman was now out of football, so much so that Madrid gave his No. 17 shirt to another player for the remainder of the season.

Van Nistelrooy, more so than others, hates to be away from top competition.  When the Dutch failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, it was the 25-year-old van Nistelrooy whose angst for the world’s biggest footballing stage would be delayed four years.

After a callous loss to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup and several falling outs with then national team coach Marco van Basten; there were some who wondered if the prolific goal-scoring Dutchman would ever get another shot at international glory.

Fast forward to January 2010, van Nistelrooy has not played for the national team in a year and a half.  For Madrid he has appeared only three times, all as a substitute, since the 2008 knee injury.

After the reconstruction of Galacticos, van Nistelrooy was seen as expendable.  He then signed with Hamburg SV of the German Bundesliga.  It’s not exactly the top-flight football that van Nistelrooy is accustomed too.

But for the Dutchman, all is not lost.  More so, the move to Germany presents an opportunity.

At the club level, there will be far less pressure on van Nistelrooy.  He finds himself on a team that already has three fellow countrymen on it: Joris Mathijsen, Eljero Elia and Romeo Castelen.  In the case of Mathijsen, there is a veteran defender who has made several national team appearances with van Nistelrooy.  Then there is Elia, seen a budding star with the Orange, who could help ignite a possible return to the national team.

Should van Nistelrooy remain healthy, the make up is there for a cohesion with his fellow countrymen and a return to the national side is possible.

Now coached by Bert van Maarwijk, the national team is in desperate need of health for its stars.  Arsenal striker Robin van Persie was having what appeared to be a career season until an ankle injury sidelined him for some five months.

Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben is a match winner on the wing, but has struggled to stay fit for most of his career.

Couple the Dutch health issues with the fact that Klaas Huntelaar, the supposed successor to the target striker position, has struggled with AC Milan this season and has yet to replicate van Nistelrooy’s value for the national team.

All of this makes van Nistelrooy’s move to Hamburg that much more important.  Simply put, the Dutch need van Nistelrooy.

Van Maarwijk is a coach that tends to rely on his veteran players; an in-form van Nistelrooy would more than likely become a favorite of the new coach to be selected for South Africa.  His inclusion would bring a leadership that historically the Dutch have needed.  A team that tends to self-combust could greatly benefit from the addition of van Nistelrooy.

As much as a healthy van Nistelrooy would be key to a possible Dutch resurgence, the newly acquired Hamburg striker must express an interest to return.  He is at this time still retired from international football.

If the Dutch arrive in South Africa with all of its stars healthy and van Nistelrooy leading them, they should pose quite a threat to the rest of the world next summer.

Dave Topp is contributing writer to RF Football.  He covers the U.S. men’s national team and the Eredivisie on a regular basis for World Soccer Reader.  You can follow him on Twitter under the username of Topper18.