In Holland van Nistelrooy is seen as penalty-box striker, but a rather good one. We were rather critical after Patrick Kluivert, who is seen here as having been the much better footballer, but it has to do with styles a somewhat. Kluivert was from the Ajax academy as was the majority of the starting eleven in the national team. They played the possession football Louis van Gaal had taught them and they had won the Champions League with, and Kluivert was like a fish in water playing it.
Ruud was sometimes thrown into that and expected to do the same things Kluivert did, which was play with his back to goal, hold up play, play one-two's, link up teammates. He couldn't do those things and it made him look bad. But it didn't make sense to overhaul the way a good national side was playing either, just a bad fit with Ruud and it hurt his reputation in Holland.
Cruijff thought he was a good finisher, but a mediocre footballer (he had high standards).