RUUD & PATRICK
KLUUD VAN ORANJE
The gift
On the 1st of July 1976
a gift made its way to the earth
It crossed nations, traveling
through lands and seas
It found no one worthy
to bless with its treasures
About returning to its place,
passing above the Dutch sky,
it was seized by an amazing sight
Two babies were to be born
These were pure beauties
It decided to impart its treasures on them
There was a problem though,
The gift was for one person,
Thus, for either of them,
Yet both were lovely
The gift was in a dilemma
But soon, it found a solution
But there was still a condition
Both will be talented
Yet never at the same time
Ruud and Patrick
On the 1st of July 1976
Un-identical twins were born
One was black, the other, white
Yet you could pass them for twins
They were lovely babies
They didn’t know each other
Named Patrick and Ruud
Each grew on his own side
Each had his own story
But the gift was the one thing
that united them
Ruud and Patrick had the same
passion - football
Their talents were immense
They knew they would become
great football players
Yet each had to shine
on the shadow of the other
Each had to have his time of glory
Though they had the same gift,
They were not to play together
That was the sad condition of the gift
Patrick
The gift was first revealed in Kluivert
while Ruud remained in the shadows.
And so at a very tender age,
Patrick marvelled the football arena.
At 18, he became a football star.
Kluivert did not spare his talents
He was “Kluivert in the zone”,
“Kluivert the incredible goal scorer.”
And Patrick scored goals
No one could stop him
By 25 he was the record man in Oranje
And we thought that no one
Whosoever could rival Kluivert
At the time of the glories of Patrick Kluivert,
Ruud was unknown to the world.
He did not know that what was
in Patrick was also found in him
He was admiring “Kluivert the king”
Not knowing that he would
soon take his place
Reversal
Suddenly, Patrick lost
his exceptional talents
What had all along been so easy for him
Became the most difficult task to do
Patrick ‘lost the zone’
No longer could he make the nets tremble
The gift left Kluivert
And dwelt in Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud
It was at Manchester United
that we discovered him
Was he coming from space
How come such a phenomenon
was known only at 25?
Where had he been all this while?
Though a late-comer,
Ruud ‘the man’ proved his worth
He was simply ‘VanGol’,
The fox at the area, the goal seeker
The right man at the right place
at the right time
That was how Ruud scored his goals
VanGol
It was fascinating to see
Ruud scoring goals
Van Nistel scored and scored,
Ruud scored goals!
He was perfect in his performances
He emerged victorious over every injury
attempting to get the best of him
Ruud became top-scorer in championships
Even at an age strikers often lose their abilities
It was the gift at work
It had to fulfil its contract with him too
The gift had worked in Kluivert,
when he was younger,
It was now working in Ruud,
when he was older
It could not work in both at the same time
It was either Patrick or Ruud
Never Ruud and Patrick
Thus excluding them
from playing together
Imagine the delight of seeing them playing together!
Common destiny
Twins were born on the 1st of July 1976
They were of different races
They were unknown to each other
for many years
They hardly played together
But their story began
in Patrick Kluivert in the mid 90s
and continues in Ruud van Nistelrooy
I only see one thing in either of them loveliness
When Kluivert left, I had him back
in van Nistelrooy
Relationship
I was mistaken to think
Frank and Ronald de Boer
were the only twins in Oranje
Ruud and Patrick are one also
They are not like the identical de Boers,
The Inseparable Brothers,
Neither like Rijkaard, Van Basten and Gullit, the triplets who always played together,
Ruud and Patrick are united by the gift
That extraordinary capacity
of scoring goals, given to them
on the day they were born
Though Patrick had been so talented
Ruud had claimed the same right
And could have removed Patrick
from our memory
If not that Kluivert was his clone
Or is Ruud the clone of Patrick,
Since first things first.
This is enigmatic.
I have only found loveliness in Oranje
Even those who don’t play together
Still come together
True, they have many differences,
Yet they are also so united
If not anywhere, they are
in my heart!
At the time that I am giving up
my passion for Oranje,
that I have exhausted myself,
having no more strength
to continue searching for you,
I can still find some strength
some inspiration, to write this last poem
on your loveliness
Still fascinated at what I can see in you
Kluud van Oranje
Ruud and Patrick
Destiny has brought you together
What is your unity?
That extraordinary capacity
of scoring goals
You are lovely at the area,
You are lovely when you score goals,
You are lovely when you
celebrate your goals,
You are lovely in Oranje,
And you are lovely
when I see only one person
in you - Kluuuuud van Oranje!
Happy Birthday Ruud and Patrick,
Or is it Kluud van Oranje?
To Patrick Kluivert and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
To Oranje To Oranje
Margaret Newmeli
mnewmeli@yahoo.com
Tel: +237 70 55 24 15 / +237 94 79 00 41 / +237 99 55 85 57
02 July 2008.
