© imago images/MIS
Recently, Mario Mandžukič, Demba Ba, announced the end of his career, and now, it can be said, it's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's turn. The striker, who left a serious mark in Germany and the Netherlands, hung up his football boots. In Germany, K. Huntelaar represented the "Schalke" team for seven seasons, with whom he managed to win the German Cup, DFB Pokal, in his first season and later the German Super Cup. His best season was in 2011/12 when he scored 29 goals and made 8 assists in the Bundesliga. It's also worth noting that at the end of his career, K. Huntelaar returned to the "Ajax" team where he made a name for himself as a player almost a decade prior and in 2009 moved to Real Madrid. However, his time at Real Madrid wasn't the most successful for the striker. Returning to "Ajax" in the 2018/19 season, he scored 16 goals and made 4 assists in the Eredivisie, starting only 13 of 28 games. Huntelaar ended his career at "Schalke" club, unfortunately unable to save them from relegation to a lower division.
Meanwhile, with the national team, the striker also has achievements. In 2006, K. Huntelaar triumphed in the European Championship with the Dutch youth team, reached the final of the World Cup in 2010, and won the bronze medal in 2014 with the national team led by L. van Gaal. Throughout his career, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored 408 goals and made 101 assists in 738 games.
Louis Van Gaal once called him, 'the best striker in the world in the box'. Wherever he went, he guaranteed goals and was one of the most underrated strikers of his generation. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar retires aged 38. 👏🇳🇱
