April 23 – RVN Canters into Old Trafford

THE number of horse-faced footballers in the Premier League doubled to two on this day in 2001 when Manchester United signed Dutch marksman Ruud van Nistelrooy (he joined Gareth Southgate in the ranks of the equine-alikes).

It had been a long road to Old Trafford for the striker Sir Alex Ferguson had first wanted to sign in 1998. His son Darren attended a trial at Heerenveen, where Ruud was playing at the time. Fergie recounted later: “Darren came back and said: `You’ve got to sign van Nistelrooy right away, he’s fantastic.’ I said: `We’ve been watching him.’ Darren said: `Well, sign him.’ On the next Saturday, we sent people to the game and PSV were there and signed him the next day – we were too slow.”

Two years later and Ferguson tried again to sign him in the summer of 2000. A deal had been agreed with PSV and United even set up a press conference to announce the transfer but before it could go ahead disaster struck: he suffered ruptured cruciate knee ligaments during a training session and the deal was axed.

But just like a Mountie, Fergie always gets his man and he went back for van Nistelrooy when he recovered from his injury, finally nabbing him for a cool £19m.

The player said: “It feels fantastic. Last year I was so close to joining and it was a big disappointment that it didn’t come true. This is the best thing that has happened to me.

“I was always confident I would sign for the club because when you get support from the people here, it made me determined to fight and come back stronger. It is a dream to play in this team.

“The price is not heavy for me – it lifts me up because it means United have big confidence in me,” he added.

PSV spokesman Pedro Salazar-Hewitt agreed United had signed a class striker. “United will get a big player, he can play in any competition and score goals,” he said. “He has come back very, very fit and motivated and I’m sure he will be one of the biggest players in the premier league. He has the mentality and the ambition to become one of the biggest players in the world.

“It has been a very tough year for him but everything is going well now. He’s a great player and very nice guy. The PSV supporters will be sorry to see him go but will give him a big send-off.”

He was an immediate hit at Old Trafford During his first season he scored 23 goals in 32 league games, ten Champions League goals, and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

The following term he went even better, helping United to the title with a team record 44 goals in 52 European and domestic matches, including twelve Champions League goals in ten games.

He was a goal machine and by the end of his fifth season with United he had a phenomenal record of 150 goals in less than 200 starts. He had also overtaken Denis Law’s record for European goals.

But it couldn’t last. In 2006 RVN was left out of the squad for the League Cup final, which United won 4-0 without him. It signaled the end of his career at the club and in the summer he was shipped off to Real Madrid after falling out with Sir Alex, and we all know players don’t survive at United after that.

Ruud won the FA Cup in 2004, defeating Millwall in the final, but today in 1927 the famous old trophy left England for the first and only time. Find out how right here.