Real Madrid s Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from international football.
After studying the schedule of Madrid and the Dutch team I realised playing for both would mean too tough a load for me, said the thirty-two year old striker.
Van Nistelrooy retires with a fine record of thirty-three goals from sixty-four games. He palyed and scored at the major tournaments in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
His decision came as a surprise to new national team coach Bert van Marwijk. I had a comprehensive conversation with Ruud and I can do nothing else but respect his decision. I regret it that I can t use his quality and experience when I compose my squad but I wish him all the best at Real Madrid.
Van Nistelrooy is still a top class striker whose scoring rate shows no sign of slowing down. His retirement is bad news for the Dutch, but is bad news for Real Madrid s rivals as well.
(Source BBC)
