Ruud: I didn’t play well…

After his lame performance against M&S, Ruud van Nistelrooy wants to show the world what he can do against Ivory Coast. The Oranje offensive leader wants to excell and score. “I’ve got to do better. Much better. It can and will happen!” Marco van Basten: “Maybe Ruud wanted too much. He just has to play his own game and do what he’s good at. Then it all will come good.” The center striker looked a bit over-eager against S&M. He wanted so badly that he kept tumbling over the ball. Since his forced resting period at Manchester United, the 29 year old only thought about this first WC match. And in his thoughts, he’d perform much better than he did.
“I didn’t play well. It didn’t go as I want at all. I also struggled with the park. The grass was very tough and sluggish. And don’t forget the S&M defense. They played well. And I had to be smarter at times.”
Ruud is disappointed. He wanted more. “But at least I did tactically what I had to do. That’s the great thing with Marco, all players know their role. If you can’t really add value, you are not without value if you do your minimum tasks. That’s why we are tough to beat. We know our mates will do their jobs. That creates confidence. Look at our two matches against the Czech. They know how to play football alright, but we didn’t give anything away. We know we can go far this event.”
Van Nistelrooy was replaced by Kuyt, who did well against S&M and after the match stated that he was ready to start the games. “It may sound funny, but I do not look at the competition. That’s not how I think. I just need to do what I have to do, than all will be well.”
Marco van Basten explained why Ruud will start against Ivory Coast. “Any one can have a difficult match. But, we have seen in the last month that Ruud is sharp, fit and in form. He’ll be back.
“Form, form, it’s an abstract concept,” is Ruud’s reaction, “I feel strong. That gives me strength. And the coach has faith in me. That’s great. I feel I will peak at the right moment. I am extremely focussed on Ivory Coast. We’ll need to do it with positioning play, high paced ball circulation, bouncing and finding the space again. No direct duelling. They are too strong. We have got to surprise them with our positioning play. And I’m curious what their wide backs will do against Robin and Arjen. I mean, these guys like to support their offense, but what if Robben and van Persie leave them cold and stay upfront? What will they do? I am so anxious to learn…