A Message to you, Ruudy - Van Nistelrooy the best bet to top the goalscoring charts

European Leagues / Alsy / 31 October 2007 / Leave a comment

Alister Morgan reckons the Dutchman will be King of Spain and the Champions League

Ruud van Nistelrooy's full name is Rutgerus Johannes Martinius van Nistelrooy. I believe the Dutch translation roughly means 'he who scores many, many goals' but I can't be 100% certain. I do know that Van Nistelrooy remains at the top of his game and, after scoring 33 goals for Madrid last season to finish top scorer in Spain, has now topped the scoring charts in three different countries.

You'd imagine that a player of his calibre would be feted in his home country, having lead the line for top clubs like PSV, Manchester Utd and Real Madrid but, as the goals continue to flow, Van Nistelrooy has only just returned to the international fold after resolving his latest dispute with Netherlands coach Marco van Basten. Personality clashes, indiscreet quotes and bruised egos never seem to be too far from this particular Dutch master but his does produce plenty of goals to balance things out. Naturally he scored on his return against Bulgaria.

While Van Nistelrooy may not receive a card from Van Basten and Martin Keown this Christmas , he's likely to pick up plenty of plaudits as he continues to break goal scoring records wherever he plays. Originally a centre half, van Nistelrooy worked his way up the field to good effect and by the time he left FC Den Bosch you could say he'd found his true calling. Scoring 13 goals in 31 games he was sold to SC Heerenveen, lasting one season, before signing for PSV. He scored 31 goals in 34 league matches during his first season with PSV ensuring that managers across European would be making a note of his name.

In the 1999-2000 season he overcame injury to record 29 league goals from 23 games - it was only a matter of time before he joined one of Europe's elite clubs. Sir Alex Ferguson showed impressive loyalty when Van Nistelrooy was injured and he rewarded Manchester United with his signature and 36 goals in all competitions during his first season.

Four years on he eventually fell out with Cristiano Ronaldo on the training ground before crossing Ferguson when not picked to play against Charlton (this omission allowed Henry to steal the Golden Boot that season). Ferguson made it clear who was boss when selling him to Real Madrid for £18.3m. When offloading him Ferguson may have thought he'd enjoyed Van Nistelrooy's best years but the Dutchman proved him wrong helping Madrid to their first La Liga title for four years while winning his first pichichi, scoring 33 league goals.

Looking at the market for top scorer in Champions League, Van Nistelrooy (5.2) predictably heads the list of Europe's best strikers. Messi (11), Drogba (14), Ronaldo (14.5) and Ibrahimovic (16) are all available at long odds but, as part of a rejuvenated Madrid side, Van Nistelrooy looks a worthy favourite.

As Manchester United's top scorer in the European competition he certainly knows how to score goals in Europe but a better option would be backing van Nistelrooy (5.5) to be top scorer in the Primera Liga. It's a fantastic price when Lionel Messi (4.2), David Villa (4.2) and Thierry Henry (4.3) are all on shorter odds. When you consider that Van Nistelrooy plays in a side currently atop of La Liga, and that he's the current pichichi holder, you'll appreciate that there's plenty of evidence pointing towards yet another domestic scoring title.

In recent years Madrid has crashed out of the Champions League far too early. If this happens again Van Nistelrooy will have fewer chances to score but Madrid will definitely be in the mix on the domestic front. If he stays injury free history suggests that Van Nistelrooy will do what he always does... top the list in the scoring charts. That's not too bad for a converted centre-half.
I think Van is definitely still the man but do you fancy the Dutchman to top the La Liga scoring tables this year?