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| Wednesday 3 December, 2008 |
| Blog: Different Klaas |
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Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is on his way to Real Madrid, but Richard Godden is left wondering why no Italian clubs pursued the signature of the next big thing in European football
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There are few strikers in Europe who are, excuse the pun, as classy in front of goal as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. So it came as no surprise to learn that Real Madrid will splash out £17m on the Ajax goal-getter in the January transfer window. The only shock is that there wasn’t more interest from the peninsula.
Huntelaar’s record in every form of football he has played in is unbelievable. Don’t take my word for it, just take a look at the stats – 34 goals in 46 Eredivisie appearances for Heerenveen, 76 goals in 92 Eredivisie appearances for Ajax, 18 goals in 22 appearances for Holland Under-21s and 10 goals in 18 senior international appearances.
At the age of 25, it’s not like Huntelaar is an unknown quantity. And having taken so long to make the step-up to a genuine European giant – with all due respect to Ajax, they no longer fall into that category – it’s unlikely he will be overawed by that prospect in the same manner as a younger player might do.
For the fee involved, it seems as though the ace marksman would have been an ideal signing for Milan, who will soon be on the look-out for a goal poacher once Pippo Inzaghi decides to hang up his boots.
Huntelaar was the perfect choice to carry on the tradition of Holland’s greatest players donning the legendary red and black shirt, continuing the scoring legacy of the great Marco Van Basten.
However, I think that Klaas-Jan would have been even more suited to a switch to the blue and black half of San Siro, where Inter seem to be dying out for someone to be a scrappy scorer. At the moment, the Nerazzurri are once again relying on super sub Julio Cruz to do this job, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic seemingly only capable of the sublime.
The signing of Huntelaar by either one of these clubs would have shown the rest of the world that Serie A is a League which is on the up, rather than – as the English Press would have us believe – on a downward slope.
Then again, for every success story from the Eredivisie – such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy – there is always a Mateja Kezman. Only time will tell which category Huntelaar falls into – it’s just a shame calcio lovers won’t have front-row seats…
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I think in many respects Madrid’s need for a striker may have caught the rest of the cream of Europe off guard. After all, Huntelaar is not cup tied for the Champions League and could be the perfect short and long term solution for them.
However, having said this, Serie A clubs, especially Milan who certainly require a goal poacher as Inzaghi can't play every game, missed an opportunity here. Despite this, Serie A cannot be considered a League in decline.
With great young striking prospects like Zarate, Balotelli, Lavezzi and Pato plying their trade in Serie A it will remain a world class League for years come.
However, what will be interesting is where Karim Benzema ends up. Milan and Juventus should take note as their forward lines are ageing and they don't want to miss out again!
Ed, Littlehampton UK
Long are gone the days of Romario, Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo scoring tonnes in Holland, and then continuing to do so when playing in a more challenging League like Serie A or La Liga. The fact is that the Dutch is quite possibly one of the weakest Leagues in Europe. The fact that clubs like AZ can challenge for the title is a true testament. In fact the Dutch League has been weak for quite some time now.
Clubs in Italy and England learnt this very quickly. Firstly we saw Kezman make a big money move to Chelsea. Was Kezman's scoring record in Holland inferior to that of Klaas? The answer is definitely not. And where is Kezman now? He was a flop at Chelsea, a flop in Spain, Turkey and now in France.
Then came the new scoring sensation that was Afonso Alves. I recall one game when I think he scored six goals. While he was in Holland, he was actually scoring more than Klaas. Like Klaas and Kezman before him, he made the big money move to England. Where is he now? At Boro, and being booed by home fans. He cannot buy a goal in the Premiership.
Just to make my point a little more clear. I will just mention Giorgios Samaras. Another flop in the Premiership after a big money move from Herenveen. The Dutch League is not what is was, and Real have made a mistake. Van Basten ignored Huntelaar for the World Cup, despite his goal scoring heroics in Holland. That tells you everything.
Rosario, Zurich
I agree with Ed in Littlehampton's comments, that the rest of Europe was surprisingly unprepared for Huntelaar's sudden availability. The fact Real lost Van Nistelrooy for the season and thanks to my team Juve's victories against them in the CL, despite qualifying, they struggled and will obviously want to go the distance.
Huntelaar's availability to be able to play in Europe was an ideal match for both parties and gives him the great opportunity to showcase his talents, along with some of his other promising international teammates already there. He will become the sixth Dutchman there and his teammates (some past Ajax) being there, will help him settle, which I would otherwise have seen being more difficult.
I am disappointed Juve weren't challenging Real for one of the hottest young strikers in football (perhaps they were privately?), as I think for part involvement now and for the future, he would have been a great addition to the Bianconeri. I just hope Benzema is wearing the colours of La Vecchia Signora when he, as expected, leaves Lyon next summer.
Huntelaar joining Real may prove to help them win, or at least to be much more of a challenge in one or both of Primera and CL, where in both cases now, they look far from favourites. This is also the big opportunity Huntelaar needs to push his case for international selection and to become the successor to Van Nistelrooy.
Rob C, Nottingham, UK
Huntelaar is a prolific, powerful striker and that's made him cost so much and only a few Italian clubs can afford him – Inter, Juventus, Fiorentina, Milan. Inter have Ibrahimovic, Ballotelli, Adriano, Cruz and Crespo already so they don't need Huntelaar. Juventus chose Amauri because of the lower price and no language barrier. I can't remember any Dutch striker who has played for Juve.
At Fiorentina, Cesare Prandelli has a special relationship with Alberto Gilardino when they were at Parma several years a go, so I think it was the reason Prandelli chose Gilardino.
Milan unfortunately chose Shevchenko. Maybe Milan have bad memories of Patrick Kluivert so they decided not to sign another Dutch striker. Another possibility is that Carlo Ancelotti prefers a fantasista than a towering striker. Milan have never had a striker with aerial ability since Oliver Bierhoff's era.
Aldi, Indonesia
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