Blind: Van Nistelrooy was incredible for Manchester United

Manchester United defender Daley Blind has hailed former Red Devils striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as ‘incredible’ after having the chance to watch him and work with him at senior level.

Van Nistelrooy was one of the best strikers United ever had and the Dutchman earned that by scoring plenty of goals for the side.

The former PSV Eindhoven forward netted over 150 goals for United during his time at Old Trafford, also becoming the highest scoring striker for the club in Europe, with over 50 goals in the Champions League in total.

Van Nistelrooy was always reliable, and in the 18-yard box their was no one more deadly than the Dutchman. He netted all his goals bar two or three for United inside that area and that made him one of the most predatory strikers in the division. He then moved on to Real Madrid and ended his career on a high note of playing for two of the biggest clubs in the world.

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Blind however, is also a Dutchman so despite not being able to play with the former striker, he has had time to work with him for the Netherlands national side. Van Nistelrooy is one of the coaches alongside Danny Blind (manager of Netherlands) and its enabled the front line to learn from one of the greats.

And after seeing how the former United man made a huge impact in games, Blind has praised the forward for his glittering career, labeling him as ‘incredible’.

"Blind said, as reported by manutd.com:”Ruud was an incredible striker in the box! Every chance was a goal. He was quick as a player and always had a feeling for a good position as a striker. If you knew you had him in your team, you were very happy because he scored in most games. That was his big quality – he could score goals and create chances for himself out of nothing.“The amount of goals he scored in his career, particularly for United, makes him a legend. He was very important for the team and he helped United win some titles as well. You’re always proud if a fellow countryman does something well at a big club like United. You look up to players like him.”"

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United have had many strikers during their great history with the likes of Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Eric Cantona and more wearing the red shirt.

However, none of those had a goalscoring record at the club like Van Nistelrooy and Blind believes that is the most important stat for a front man. Van Nistelrooy did score good goals for United but his solo effort against Fulham is one of the stand-out, one that Blinds remembers well during his younger days as a youth footballer.

"“Scoring is the most important thing for a striker and that’s why he will be remembered. One goal I always think of when people are talking about Ruud is the solo one from midfield [against Fulham in March 2003] that he scored. That was a fantastic goal.“I first met Ruud when he became the assistant manager for the Dutch team and he’s a really great person. Before that I only knew him from watching him in the past at the big clubs he played at, including, of course, United. I have some great images in my mind of him as a player and then I got to know him as a person. He’s a great personality and I think I can learn a lot from him at international level. It’s funny now when we do some finishing exercises with the national team because you still see that he gets the ball, takes a shot and it’s in. It’s very impressive,” he added."

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Blind is currently on international duty with the Netherlands where he was involved in the 3-2 win over Wales. Meanwhile, youngster Jesse Lingard has received his first senior England call-up.

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