Ruud joy for Holland
Monday, May 28, 2007

Ruud van Nistelrooy wants to play for Holland again after resolving his differences with coach Marco van Basten.

Van Basten and the Real Madrid striker have settled a dispute that began when the Dutch coach criticised an out-of-form Van Nistelrooy at last year’s World Cup in Germany, Van Basten told reporters yesterday.

While the Dutch team have struggled for goals in the last year, Van Nistelrooy has scored 21 times for Real.

“He’s in good form at the moment,” Van Basten said.

Since their World Cup spat, Van Basten had spoken to Van Nistelrooy twice to persuade him to play internationally again. Both times, the Real striker said no and publicly vowed never to play for Holland while Van Basten was in charge.

But despite those rejections, the Holland coach did not give up hope of talking the 30-year-old into making a comeback.

“I never thought that there was no reason not to try again,” Van Basten said. “That feeling was right and finally has led to him saying, ‘I’m back’.”

Van Nistelrooy, who has scored 28 goals in 54 internationals, has not played for Holland since Van Basten left him on the bench in a 1-0 defeat to Portugal that ended Oranje’s World Cup in Germany.

After being dropped, Van Nistelrooy accused Van Basten of selecting personal favourites and not necessarily the best players.

“If you do not please him on a personal level, you are not selected,” Van Nistelrooy told Sportweek magazine last September.

In qualifying for next year’s European Championships, Holland lead Group G with 14 points from six matches and only eight goals from a nation traditionally known for their attacking flair. Romania are second with 11 points from their five matches.

Holland’s next qualifier is against Bulgaria on Sept 8

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