piazza said:
That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Ruud is the best finisher this club has ever seen. One of the best ever in terms of pure goalscorers.
I'd rather you put it as 'Ruud's the most prolific striker for United', instead of 'Ruud's the best finisher this club has ever seen' as the former's a fact, while the latter is rather subjective & debatable. Personally, I think that the baby-faced guy in ur siggy is a better finisher than Ruud imo.
Remember this, a good finisher should never be judged by the amount of goals he scores alone. Instead, it should be on the way he creates space that separates him from his man-marker, the way he strikes the ball, the angle of the shot, the way he reads the goalie's actions, the timing of their shot, not only with power, but with placement as well & last but not least, how calm their minds are when they hit it and if they're able to make time stands still when they shoot, they are the best of the best.
Someone like Ole springs to mind instantly. Sorry for going off-topic...
Anyway, deffo' Ruud's a legend! A prolific hitman with deadly finishing ability, powerful physique, fantastic technique and great ability to score insane amount of goals.
Just take a look at his career
Started at Den Bosch (as a midfielder!) scored 12 goals in 13 club apps.
Signed for Heerenveen scored 13 goals in 31 club apps.
Signed for PSV and scored 60 goals in 57 club apps.
Alas! Signed for United and scored 150 goals in 219 club apps.
Signed for Real Madrid and scored 63 goals in 92 club apps.
Played for the Netherlands national football team and scored 33 goals in 64 apps.
All in all, 354 goals in 567 games in professional career. (0.624)
He is currently the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with sixty goals. He is a three-time Champions League top scorer, as well as a top scorer in three different European domestic leagues.
How good was he as a player? For me, 19million pounds was an absolute bargain. He's able to score against anybody, from league minnows to european powerhouses.
People also say Ruud scores tap ins and not great goals, well if it's so easy to score tap in's why doesn't the rest of the premiership strikers do that week in week out then?? The fact remains is that Ruud is a sheer fox-in-the-box with incredible predatory instincts. At his prime, he is up there with the greatest ever strikers and I believe he has already written his name into United's folklore.
