Klaas Jan Huntelaar

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Klaas Jan Huntelaar
Personal information
Full name Klaas Jan Huntelaar
Date of birth August 12, 1983 (age 23)
Place of birth    Flag of Netherlands Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands
Height 186 cm / 6ft 1.25in
Nickname The Hunter
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Flag of Netherlands AFC Ajax
Number 9
Youth clubs
1998-2000
2000-2002
Flag of Netherlands De Graafschap

Flag of Netherlands PSV

Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2002-2003
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2006
2006-
Flag of Netherlands PSV

Flag of Netherlands De Graafschap (loan)

Flag of Netherlands AGOVV (loan)

Flag of Netherlands SC Heerenveen

Flag of NetherlandsAjax

1 (0)
9 (0)
35 (26)
46 (34)
44 (35)   
National team2
2006- Flag of Netherlands Netherlands 5 (2)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of April 1, 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of April 1, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (born August 12, 1983 in Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Ajax Amsterdam and Netherlands, where he has replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy as striker after he fell out with coach Marco van Basten. He is seen as a rising star in Dutch football, having scored 33 goals in the 2005/06 Eredivisie campaign, making him top scorer. His nickname is 'The Hunter'.

Contents

In 2000, aged 16, Huntelaar joined PSV Eindhoven’s academy and established himself as a prolific goalscorer for their youth team.

He made his debut for PSV during the first half of the 2002-2003 season but this was to prove his one and only Eredivisie appearance for the club.

Having failed to establish himself in the first team he was loaned out to De Graafschap to gain experience. He made 9 Eredivisie appearances for ‘the Super Farmers’ but failed to score.

In the summer of 2003 Huntelaar was again loaned out. This time to AGOVV Apeldoorn in the Dutch First Division. He was an instant success scoring 26 times in his 35 league appearances and finished the season as the divisions top goalscorer.

After the player turned down the opportunity to sign a new contract with PSV SC Heerenveen moved in to sign him for a transfer fee of €100,000. The following season he scored 17 goals in 31 matches to help Heerenveen qualify for the UEFA Cup. 2005/06 saw him score 17 goals in 15 matches, form which earned him a mid-season transfer to Ajax, who paid € 9 million + future extensives for the player. A substantial sum went to rivals PSV Eindhoven as a result of the training compensation rule imposed by FIFA.

Huntelaar had an immediate impact at Ajax, scoring perhaps his most spectacular goal of the season, a bicycle kick in injury time of the KNVB Cup semifinal against Roda JC, which squared the match and allowed Ajax to go on to victory after the extra periods. Huntelaar then went on to score a brace, including the winner, against PSV Eindhoven to bring Ajax its 16th KNVB Cup.

Training with Ajax
Training with Ajax

Huntelaar was the first player to score a goal at Arsenal F.C.'s new Emirates Stadium in a testimonial match for Dennis Bergkamp on July 22nd, 2006 - a match Ajax ended up losing 2-1 (although in the second half, which started off with Ajax leading 1-0, 'legends' like Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten and Ian Wright played instead).

Huntelaar started the 2006/07 campaign by scoring a brace against Copenhagen in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round.

Ajax recently issued a hands-off warning following speculation that Newcastle United was interested in signing the player in the January transfer window. [1] Manchester United and Liverpool are also said to be very interested in the player. Juventus, Arsenal, Olympique Lyonnais and Valencia are also interested in signing the striker. [2][3][4][5]

On 22th March 2007, he told in an interview to the Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" that his idols were Ruud Gullit and Dennis Bergkamp and today he loves Filippo Inzaghi, AC Milan's striker.[6]

FC Barcelona are also interested in signing the striker, with a reported 4 year €15 million deal in the works. [7]

Despite being in the preliminary squad, Huntelaar was not chosen for the Dutch national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Coach Marco van Basten explained that he felt Huntelaar would benefit from more experience and from playing at the UEFA Under 21 football championships, going as far as to say that it was up to Huntelaar to "show us there that [by not selecting Huntelaar] we did not do the right thing".[citation needed] While Holland went on to score no goals against quality opposition at the World Cup in Germany, Huntelaar led the Dutch to victory as the top-scorer of the Under 21 tournament with four goals, including a wonderful strike in the semi-final against France and a brace in the final against Ukraine. Huntelaar was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament as a striker.

Marco van Basten decided to call Huntelaar as his starting striker in the Dutch National squad's friendly against the Republic of Ireland on August 16, 2006. Huntelaar paid immediate dividends by scoring two goals (another one was disallowed by a controversial off-side call by the referee, denying him the hat-trick), and making two assists, in Holland's 4-0 victory.

Club Performance[8][9]
Club Season Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie Dutch Cup Europe Play-offs Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Ajax 2006-07 a 28 19 3 2 9 9 - - 40 30
2005-06 16 16 3 5 2 1 4 2 25 24
SC Heerenveen 2005-06 14 17 1 1 6 3 - - 21 21
2004-05 31 17 0 0 7 3 - - 38 20
PSV (youth) 2002-03 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 1 0
Club Season Flag of Netherlands Eerste Divisie Dutch Cup - - Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
AGOVV Apeldoorn 2003-04 35 26 0 0 - - - - 35 26
De Graafschap 2002-03 9 0 0 0 - - - - 9 0
Total 134 95 7 8 24 16 4 2 169 121
a Updated April 1, 2007

Preceded by
Dirk Kuijt
Dutch Eredivisie Topscorer
2005-2006
Succeeded by
Incumbent


Ajax Amsterdam - Current Squad

1 Stekelenburg | 2 Heitinga | 3 Stam | 4 Vermaelen | 5 Emanuelson | 6 Maduro | 8 Babel | 9 Huntelaar | 10 Sneijder | 11 Perez | 12 Vermeer | 13 Davids | 14 Roger | 15 Lindenbergh | 16 de Mul | 18 Gabri | 20 Ogăraru | 21 Mitea | 22 Grygera | 23 Leonardo | 24 Schilder | 25 Sarpong | 26 Manucharyan | 28 Vertonghen | 29 Poepon | 30 Gentenaar | 32 van Duin | Manager: ten Cate

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