Article
02 December 2008
Javier Coloma & Alberto Navarro / Translation by Matthew Goltz
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is officially Real Madrid's newest player. The Dutch striker is a prolific goal scorer and can easily be considered your classic '9'. "The Hunter" is the eighth Dutchman to join the ranks of Real Madrid.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Voor-Drempt, 1983) now belongs to Real Madrid. The Dutch 25-year old leaves Ajax for the Spanish capital and will be sorely missed in Amsterdam. Nicknamed "The Hunter" because of his scoring ability, Huntelaar has averaged 20 goals a season throughout his professional career. Last year he became the first Ajax player to exceed 30 since 1986/87. Three ways to describe the striker are opportunist, powerful aerial game, and insatiable thirst for scoring.
His positioning and wit near the opponent's goal have played a key role in his scoring ability. He is always in the right place at the right time to capitalize. At 6'1" (185 cm), Huntelaar's best skill however is his aerial game.
The striker is also extremely talented at playing with his back towards the goal and is versatile enough to serve as pivot-man for attacking midfielders. Equally skilled with both feet, Huntelaar possesses a powerful strike and is a set-piece specialist.
The Hunter has scored 136 goals in 192 matches, and as an international has found the back of the net on ten occasions in 18 caps. He has twice been the top scorer of the Eredivise with 33 goals in each campaign.
He made his top flight debut with PSV Eindhoven on 23 November 2002 at the age of 19 after scoring 26 goals in 23 matches for the youth team. Huntelaar then played on loan for De Graafschap followed by AGOVV Apeldoorn. Heerenveen then signed him one season later before Ajax scooped him up in 2005.