Van Nistelrooy to retire from International football

August 5, 2008

Rudd Van Nistelrooy to retire from International football. It was announced on Monday by the Dutch FA that the Real Madrid striker was no longer available for selection and therefore wouldn’t be part of the Dutch qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup.

The Real Madrid forward said “After studying the scheduled of Real Madrid and the Dutch team, I realized that looking at the required physical effort to perform well at that level; a choice had to be made.

“The combination of the league, cup and Champions League matches of Real Madrid on one hand and the schedule of the Dutch team on the other is too heavy for me.

“It leaves me with no other choice. Of course you don’t easily make such decisions. I had a really good European Championship with ‘Oranje’ and I look back with a good feeling,”

The Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk commented “I had a long talk with Ruud and the only thing I can and want to do is respect his decision. Of course it’s a shame that I can’t use his qualities and international experience. I hope that Ruud will do great at Real Madrid.”

Van Nistelrooy scored 33 goals in 64 matches for the national team, representing his country at 3 major tournaments in 2004, 2006 and 2008. He made his first international appearance in 1998 in a friendly against Germany but unfortunately missed Euro 2000 due to injury.

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