Ajax has brought Klaas-Jan Huntelaar back to Amsterdam. The former striker will be included in the technical organization in which Huntelaar works closely with technical manager Gerry Hamstra and trainer Erik ten Hag.
Hamstra has taken over most of the tasks from the departed director of football affairs Marc Overmars. Huntelaar has been appointed to support him immediately. His contract runs until the summer of 2004.
The arrival of Huntelaar does not mean that Ajax is waiving the arrival of a new director of football affairs. The national champion reports that it must be there by the summer at the latest.
Ambition
Huntelaar, now 38, has the ambition to eventually become technical director of a professional club. General manager Edwin van der Sar is aware of this. “For that reason, he has already had a look behind the scenes with us a few times since the summer and, for example, attended meetings of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board.”
To prepare Huntelaar for a future position as TD, he is following a development program. “The great thing about Klaas Jan is that he knows a lot about top international football, thinks things through carefully and that he has a clear opinion of his own. I am convinced that, even if he is new in this role, he will immediately give it.” “says Van der Sar on the Ajax website.
Trainer diploma
Huntelaar is happy with the opportunity that Ajax offers him. “I am curious about what will happen in the coming period. I am also working on my trainer’s diploma. The knowledge I gain during that course will also help me with what I will do at Ajax.”
In 2006 Huntelaar made his debut in the shirt of Ajax. Since then, he has played 257 matches in which he scored 158 goals. He won the national title in Amsterdam in 2019. He left the 2021 champion team prematurely in an attempt to save another former employer, Schalke 04, from relegation. That goal failed. Huntelaar played 76 international matches, in which he was accurate no less than 42 times.