Ranking the top 10 strikers of the pre-Messi-Ronaldo Golden Age (1995-2005)

Modified Oct 18, 2017 17:57 GMT

Christian Vieri & Marcelo Salas were among the world-class strikers who did not make the list

#8 Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Poacher Supreme; Ruud was a finisher of note who made poaching into an art form.

Ruud, as he was simply known, was a force of nature combining fearsome pace and power with intelligent movement and, of course, an unerring finishing ability.

Derided by certain football purists as a great scorer of goals and nothing more, Ruud confounded his critics with his technique, power, and ability to always make the right decisions.

Rightfully nicknamed as the new Van Basten on his emergence from Heerenveen, Van Nistelrooy blew everyone away following his move to PSV and followed it up with a fantastic run at European giants Manchester United and Real Madrid.

249 goals in 449 club games tell its own story; they are the statistics of a truly exceptional striker and his record of 35 goals in 70 games for Oranje (one in two games) is incomparable.

Edited by Shambhu Ajith