KLAAS JAN HUNTELAAR PROFILE - NETHERLANDS PLAYERS AT EURO 2008
June 1st, 2008
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (born August 12, 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Ajax and the Netherlands. He previously represented PSV Eindhoven, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, and SC Heerenveen.
Various media outlets have noted him as a rising star in Dutch football, being named Dutch Football Talent of the Year and Ajax "Player of the year" in 2006. Due to his goal-scoring ability he has earned the nickname "The Hunter", a play on his last name. He was a part of the Dutch side that won the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, where he became the tournament’s leading goal-scorer. He was also named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. He is the all-time highest goal-scorer for the Netherlands U21 squad with 18 goals in 22 matches. In domestic football he was Eredivisie’s top scorer in the 2005–06 season with 33 goals in 31 games. He also became the top scorer in the 2007–08 season with 33 goals in 34 appearances.
Profile
Huntelaar was born in Drempt, a village in the Achterhoek region of Netherlands, but moved to Hummelo when he was six weeks old. He lived with parents Dirk-Jan and Maud Huntelaar, and his two brothers Niek and Jelle. Like his two brothers, at the age of five Huntelaar joined the local football team v.v. H. en K. (football club Hummelo and Keppel) where he played for the next six years. Huntelaar was scouted as a youth talent by Go Ahead Eagles, however, the distance required to travel prohibited him from joining the team from Deventer. Soon after he was scouted by De Graafschap where on April 6, 1994 he signed his first youth contract, aged eleven. During his first two years with De Graafschap, Huntelaar played as a left back, left winger, attacking midfielder, and even as a goalkeeper; only in his third year was he deployed as a striker. In the 1997–98 season, the now 14 year old Huntelaar was the first striker for the C-team at De Graafschap, and scored 33 goals in 20 matches. The following season saw him promoted to the B1 team, and in the 1999–00 season he became top scorer of the B1 league with 31 goals. His goal-scoring abilities drew the attention of PSV Eindhoven, who signed him in June 2000.
Huntelaar is a striker who plays as a centre forward, or an "out-and-out" striker, rather than as a supporting striker. He has a good technical ability and can score goals with his head and with either foot. In an October 2007 interview Huntelaar stressed the importance of fitness to his game: "You have to work on every area but I would say that physical fitness is absolutely essential, especially in big games. I need to stay sharp and keep my speed up over 90 minutes, from the kick-off right through to the final whistle. That’s fundamental." He has been compared in playing style to Marco van Basten and Fernando Morientes. Real Madrid C.F. manager Bernd Schuster has said of the player "It seems like they have cloned him from Marco van Basten. His way of moving, shooting with both feet and heading power all remind me of Van Basten."
Strikers have traditionally found it very difficult to succeed at Ajax, and Goal.com columnist Wout Stravers has praised Huntelaar for avoiding ending up at the "Amsterdam striker cemetery". In January 2001, Huntelaar and his girlfriend Maddy became a couple.
Career
PSV
In his first season at PSV, Huntelaar quickly established himself as a prolific goalscorer for their A1 youth team under coach Willy van der Kuijlen (the all-time top scorer in the Eredivisie with 311 goals), scoring 26 goals in 23 games to become top scorer in the youth league. In his second season at PSV, Huntelaar was added to Guus Hiddink’s senior team, but failed to secure a place in the starting line-up. He made his first team debut as a substitute for Mateja Kežman on November 23, 2002 in a 0–3 away win over RBC Roosendaal. This turned out to be his only Eredivisie appearance for the club.
De Graafschap
Having failed to establish himself in the PSV first team, Huntelaar was sent on loan to his old club De Graafschap. He made his senior debut for De Graafschap on February 8, 2003, coming on as a substitute for Hans van de Haar against RBC Roosendaal. He made his first appearance in the starting lineup on February 16, 2003 as De Graafschap were beaten 1–5 by his future employer SC Heerenveen. He made his final appearance in the squad on May 29, 2003 as De Graafschap lost 2–1 to FC Zwolle, confirming their demotion from the Eredivisie. In total, Huntelaar made nine Eredivisie appearances for the Super Farmers but failed to score, and De Graafschap decided not to extend his contract. Klaas-Jan’s uncle, Cor Huntelaar, was financial director of De Graafschap at the time of his death and was remembered by the club during a tribute match against Heracles Almelo on March 15, 2008.
AGOVV
At the start of the 2003–04 season Huntelaar was again sent on loan, this time to newly-promoted Eerste Divisie side AGOVV Apeldoorn under coach Jurrie Koolhof. He was an instant success, scoring on his debut for AGOVV against TOP Oss. In his second league game for AGOVV, Huntelaar scored a hat-trick against Heracles Almelo. Huntelaar went on to score 26 times in his 35 league appearances and finished the season as the division’s top goalscorer, and was named "Player of the Year" for the Eerste Divisie (First Division). In 2007, AGOVV named one of the stands at Sportpark Berg & Bos the "Klaas-Jan Huntelaar stand".
SC Heerenveen
After Huntelaar turned down the opportunity to sign a new contract with PSV, Frysian club SC Heerenveen moved in to sign him for a transfer fee of €100,000. The player has since explained his decision not to renew his contract with PSV, saying "I was there for two years and when I turned 18 I was loaned out to De Graafschap, where I’d played between the ages of 10 and 16, and then to AgoVV. When I went back to PSV the second time, I wasn’t playing and the club didn’t offer me anything specific. I just wanted to play and work on my game." Heerenveen chairman Riemer van der Velde described what the club expected from the player: "He is a young, scoring striker who has undergone a good development last season. He will have to prove himself on a higher level, but I expect that he can benefit us greatly. If Huntelaar can score fifteen goals like Sibon did last season, we can’t complain". Huntelaar started the 2004–05 season well by scoring on his Eredivisie debut with Heerenveen against AZ. Huntelaar also scored in his second game for Heerenveen, against Roda JC, and less than a month later scored a brace to lead Heerenveen to a 3–0 victory against NAC Breda.[20][21] In October, Huntelaar scored two more braces, one against FC Utrecht, and one against FC Den Bosch. Huntelaar scored more goals against RBC Roosendaal and Willem II Tilburg to take his scoring tally to 10 goals in 17 games at the winter break. The striker continued to do well after the winter break, scoring in the first two games of 2005 against FC Den Bosch and NAC Breda. However, he could not continue his good start to the new year and hit a scoring drought; Huntelaar did not score in his next eight league games. It was only in late April that he continued his scoring form with a hat-trick against RBC. Huntelaar finished the season in style, scoring in the two penultimate games, against FC Groningen and NEC. At the end of the season, Huntelaar had scored a total of 17 goals in 31 matches, and was a decisive factor in helping Heerenveen qualify for the UEFA Cup.
