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He was the brightest prospect to come out of Louis Van Gaal's young Europe-conquering Ajax side and it was expected that he would lead the Dutch attack for many years to come.

 Kluivert had just signed for AC Milan - the team he had sunk in the 1995 Champions Cup final with his most important goal - and most experts predicted that his strength, impudence, intuition and eye for goal would take Serie A by storm.

 I must confess that, back in 1997, I had never heard of Ruud Van Nistelrooy. By a bizarre coincidence, he had been born on the same day as Kluivert - July 1, 1976 - but 10 years ago he had hardly caught the eye.

 He had played for FC Den Bosch since 1993, but more as a central defender or midfielder than striker. Tall and powerful, Van Nistelrooy was praised for his work ethic. But nothing suggested that he was going to leave Kluivert in the shadows within a few years.

 It is interesting to compare the parallel fortunes of these two men, the best strikers produced by Holland since the great Marco Van Basten.

 A look at their respective careers suggests that the important thing for a player is not to start out like a teenage house on fire, but to slowly but surely improve - with professional dedication and sheer hard work - in the mid to late 20s.

 The children's tale of the Hare and the Tortoise would be an appropriate background to the story of Kluivert and Van Nistelrooy.

 In their legendary race, of course, the hare set off like an express train, whilst the tortoise dawdled behind. The hare, sure of victory, became complacent and lay down for a snooze - allowing the tortoise to overtake him and win.

 In July 1997 - just as Kluivert was taking advantage of the "Bosman Law" to leave Ajax for Milan - Van Nistelrooy was signed by Heerenveen. It was not a transfer which captured the headlines.

 But whilst Kluivert was flopping at San Siro, Heerenveen were converting Van Nistelrooy into a striker - and were rewarded with 13 goals in 31 matches.

 Rarely has a defender been converted into a forward to such good effect. The only other precedent that I can recall is when wily Luton manager Alec Stock signed young left-back Malcolm Macdonald from Fulham in 1969 - and converted him into a lethal striker.

 Van Nistelrooy won rave reviews at Heerenveen with his new-found goal touch and was signed by PSV Eindhoven in July 1998 for a Dutch domestic record fee.

 By then Kluivert had left Milan for Barcelona, where he did well when kept under control by father-figure Van Gaal, but went off the rails after the latter's departure in 2000.

 Kluivert had already been convicted of manslaughter in Holland after a fatal car accident. In addition, he had been charged with rape but acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

 In Barcelona he was charged, but again acquitted, of hitting a waitress in a nightclub fracas. Reports of his nocturnal antics were soon filling the Catalan press, and there were even rumours of him turning up drunk for training.

 Van Nistelrooy, in contrast, dedicated himself completely to becoming the complete striker, compensating for his lack of pace by developing the lethal finish of a trained assassin.

 He scored 62 goals in 67 games for PSV and was about to sign for Manchester United, in 2000, when he tore knee ligaments in a horrendous training-ground accident - and was out for a whole year.

 Curiously, Van Nistelrooy might have linked up with Kluivert at Euro 2000 had he not suffered that accident.

 Euro 2000 was the high-point of Kluivert's career, though his subsequent decline was far from predictable then. He scored five goals in the tournament, but missed a crucial semi-final penalty against Italy - and has done nothing for Holland since.

 Van Nistelrooy has taken over from Kluivert as Holland's principal hitman. Barring injury, he will be leading the Dutch attack at Euro 2008 - whilst Kluivert watches on television.

 Van Nistelrooy finally left Eindhoven for Manchester in July 2001, and quickly became the idol of Old Trafford with 95 goals in 150 games.

 The career of Kluivert, meanwhile, was on the downward slide. His evident physical decline was greeted with jeers and whistles by the frustrated fans in the Camp Nou. He was eventually given a free transfer by Barca in 2004, only to also flop - partly due to injury - at Newcastle.

 It was the same story of high salary and poor return for the money in Valencia. In July 2006 he returned to Holland, but spent more time on the bench than on the field for PSV, and was given another free transfer this summer to Lille, where he has only started three matches and has scored just once.

 Kluivert's decline has been mirrored by Van Nistelrooy's progress. He fell out with Sir Alex Ferguson in June 2006, after refusing to sit on the sub's bench, but was promptly snapped up by Real Madrid.

 Van Nistelrooy was expected to be understudy to Ronaldo last season, but did so well - league top scorer with 25 goals - that the tubby Brazilian was sold off to Milan.

 "VanGol", as he is fondly known by the Real fans, has been just as sharp this season as last, as Mallorca discovered to their chagrin on Sunday.

 He has already scored six Liga goals this season and it would be little surprise if he again took the top scorer award, just before his 32nd birthday.

 Indeed, Real are so delighted with Van Nistelrooy - who has gone out of his way to help the other Dutch signings to settle in Madrid - that they are planning to extend his contract until 2010.

 So whilst teenage sensation Kluivert winds down his career at a French midtable club, late-developer Van Nistelrooy is keeping his place among Planet Football's elite.

 The Hair and Tortoise indeed.By Duncan Shaw, dpa