Ruud van Nistelrooy has admitted that he faced the toughest test in his Manchester United playing career when he came up against one incredible four-man defence.
Sir Alex Ferguson paid a then-British record transfer fee of £19m to bring Van Nistelrooy to Old Trafford in 2001 from PSV Eindhoven.
Van Nistelrooy, who is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, left an incredible long-lasting legacy during his prolific run with United.
The 47-year-old Dutch former striker scored a whopping 150 times in 219 appearances for United, with Van Nistelrooy becoming an instant fan favourite.
Van Nistelrooy lifted a Premier League title, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his time at United, with the ex-Red Devils striker leaving Old Trafford in 2006.
Before his falling out with Ferguson and subsequent departure to Real Madrid, Van Nistelrooy faced his fair share of stiff competition while playing at United.
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Van Nistelrooy on AC Milan’s famous defence
Even for a prolific striker like Van Nistelrooy, the Dutchman had his work cut out for him when he came up against a formidable AC Milan side in the Champions League.
Van Nistelrooy started the second-leg round-of-16 clash against Milan at the San Siro in 2005, which the Italian side won by a 1-0 scoreline thanks to Hernan Crespo.
During the last-16 tie, Milan deployed a daunting back four featuring Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Cafu and Paolo Maldini, with Gennaro Gattuso ahead in midfield.
Speaking to the Oxford Union in 2016, Van Nistelrooy recalled his “horrible” experience of playing against Italian defences and clashing with the likes of Milan.
“Italian defences were horrible to play against,” he said.
“They all stay behind, it’s like, ‘Wow, go on full-backs, go forward a bit.’ And they are having none of it. They’d rather not concede than score!
“The defence I played against [of] Cafu, Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini. That was incredible. And then they had Gattuso in front of them. I thought they’d kill me if I got the ball.
“Oh, and then they had [Andrea] Pirlo and [Clarence] Seedorf, the strongest man in football. That was a tough night. I didn’t get near a shot.”
Van Nistelrooy’s point on Italian defences is far
United had a hard time with Milan in the Champions League 2004-05 season, with the Serie A side dumping Ferguson’s men out of Europe’s elite club competition.
The Red Devils had finished second in Group D — two points behind Lyon — and were drawn against Milan in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Crespo scored the second-half winner in the first-leg last-16 tie at Old Trafford before the former Chelsea striker inflicted another blow in the second-leg clash.
Milan went on to sweep aside fierce rivals Inter Milan in the quarter-finals and defeated Van Nistelrooy’s former club PSV Eindhoven en route to the finals.
However, the Serie A club fell short in the 2005 final after United’s rivals Liverpool defeated Milan on penalties at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.
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