Hamburg´s van Nistelrooy drops Holland hint

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy said he has joined Bundesliga side Hamburg in a bid to win back his place in the Holland team before this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

The 33-year-old made his last appearance in the orange shirt of Holland after his side were beaten in the quarter-finals by Russia at Euro 2008, but has hinted he would like to play for the Netherlands again.

“I want to deliver the goods in the shirt of Hamburg and to win things with this team,” said the Dutch star, who signed from Real Madrid on Saturday, on the club’s website.

“I hope the Dutch selectors will contact me again so I can take part in the World Cup.”

The hot-shot forward scored 33 goals for Holland in 64 matches, but announced his retirement for a second time following Euro 2008 after a disagreement with then coach Marco van Basten.

But Hamburg have pulled off something of a coup by signing the Dutch striker and the former Manchester United star said he was eager to join.

“The Bundesliga has always interested me and is one of the reasons why I accepted Hamburg’s offer,” said Van Basten.

“In my opinion, this is one of the best league’s in the world alongside Spain and England.”

Van Nistelrooy has signed a contract until June 2011 and Hamburg are reported to have spent 4 million euros (5.65 million US dollars) on bringing the Dutchman to the Hanseatic City.

He joins three other Dutchmen – Joris Mathijsen, Eljero Elia and Romeo Castelen – in the Hamburg squad and Van Nistelrooy said he had spoken to former Hamburg captain and Real team-mate Rafael van der Vaart about Hamburg.

“I spoke to Rafael and Joris about Hamburg and they both said what a good club it was, they all advised me to go there,” said Van Nistelrooy.

The tall striker has earned a glittering reputation for scoring goals wherever he plays.

He has already been crowned the best striker in Holland, having scored 62 goals for Eindhoven between 1998 and 2001, England, having scored 95 goals for Manchester United between 2001-06 and Spain, having netted 46 goals for Real between 2006 and 2010.

There is still some uncertainty about how he will perform for Hamburg after knee surgery in November 2008 and he has only played 127 minutes of football for Real this season.

“I may need a bit of time to recover my fitness, but I hope to prove myself to my team-mates as soon as possible,” he said.