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 Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands
Height 186 cm / 6ft 1.25in
Nickname The Hunter
Position Striker
Club information
Current club AFC Ajax
Number 9
Youth clubs
1998-2000
2000-2002		 De Graafschap
PSV
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
2002-2003
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004-2006
2006-		 PSV
De Graafschap
AGOVV Apeldoorn
SC Heerenveen
Ajax Amsterdam		 1 (0)
9 (0)
35 (26)
46 (34)
31 (23)
National team**
2006- Netherlands 4 (2)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of December 5, 2006.
** National team caps and goals correct
as of November 15, 2006.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar (born August 12, 1983 in Drempt, Gelderland, Netherlands) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Ajax Amsterdam. He is seen as a rising star in Dutch football, having scored 33 goals in the 2005/06 Eredivisie campaign, making him the current holder of the European Golden Boot. His nickname is 'The Hunter'.

Contents

[edit] Club career

In 2006, Ajax signed Huntelaar from SC Heerenveen, paying € 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. Perhaps his most spectacular goal of the season was 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.

Huntelaar won the European Golden Boot for the 2005-2006 season.

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 are also said to be interested in the player. Huntelaar himself said "I love clubs with great history like Ajax. I also love United. It's a club that makes me dream, especially since Ruud van Nistelrooy has played there and did great things for them." [2]

[edit] International career

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." [3]. While Holland went on to score no goals against quality opposition in Germany, Huntelaar led the Dutch to victory as the top-scorer of the Under 21 tournament with four goals, including a brace in the final against Ukraine. Huntelaar was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament as a striker, together with Artem Milevsky.

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.

[edit] Career Stats

Club Performance[4][5]
Club Season Netherlands Eredivisie Dutch Cup Europe Play-offs Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Ajax 2006-07 15 7 2 2 8 8 - - 25 17
2005-06 16 16 3 5 2 1 ? ? 21 22
Total 31 23 5 7 10 9  ?  ? 46 39
SC Heerenveen 2005-06 14 17 1 1 6 3 - - 21 21
2004-05 31 17 ? ? 7 3 - - 38 20
Total 45 34 1 1 13 6 - - 59 41
Club Season Netherlands Eerste Divisie Dutch Cup Europe Play-offs Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
AGOVV Apeldoorn 2002-03 35 26 0 0 0 0 - - 35 26
Total 35 26 0 0 0 0 - - 35 26
De Graafschap 2002-03 9 0 0 0 0 0 - - 9 0
Total 9 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
PSV (youth) 2002-03 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 1 0
2001-02 0 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
Total 1 0 0 0 0 0 - - 0 0
Overall Total 121 83 6 8 23 15  ?  ? 150 106

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Newcastle warned off Huntelaar and Emanuelson", ESPN Soccernet, 2006-11-21. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  2. ^ "Ajax's Huntelaar: I love Man Utd", Tribalfootball, 2006-12-10. Retrieved on 2006-12-14.
  3. ^ uk.sports.yahoo.com
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ [2]

[edit] External links


Ajax Amsterdam - Current Squad

1 Stekelenburg | 2 Heitinga | 3 Stam | 4 Vermaelen | 5 Emanuelson | 6 Maduro | 7 Rosales | 8 Babel | 9 Huntelaar | 10 Sneijder | 11 Perez | 12 Vermeer | 14 Roger | 15 Lindenbergh | 16 de Mul | 17 Krohn-Dehli | 18 Gabri | 19 Rosenberg | 20 Ogăraru | 21 Mitea | 22 Grygera | 23 Boakye | 24 Schilder | 25 Sarpong | 26 Manucharyan | 28 Vertonghen | 29 Poepon | 30 Gentenaar | 32 van Duin
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