Huntelaar is ready to leave Ajax

Ajax's prolific young striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar has said that he will leave the Eredivisie after this season is over. The 24 year-old is reportedly searching for a move to one of Europe's bigger leagues, and it won't be too difficult for the tall Dutch international to find a move.

Huntelaar was linked with some of Europe's top clubs this summer, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lyon and Liverpool.

However, Juventus are said to be leading the chase for the coveted Ajax front man. The Italian press even claims that Juventus already have an agreement with the Amsterdam club in place for next summer.

In any case it seems clear that one of Holland's greatest talents will finally be leaving his homeland.

"I feel ready for a new experience abroad," Huntelaar told the Dutch press.

"At the end of the season, I'll leave."

I'm excited to see where Huntelaar ends up, because as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Makaay grow older, we will need some new talent to fill in. Robin van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, and Ryan Babel are all good forwards, but none are strikers in the same sense as Huntelaar and van Nistelrooy.

A challenge in a new league will be great for Huntelaar, so as much as I support Ajax, I must say that I would like to see him move abroad.

Dutch Attacking Midfielders: Who's the best?

The Netherlands has always been more focused on the attacking side of football, making the KNVB one of the most entertaining national teams to watch. However, with such a huge amount of attacking talent, Marco van Basten faces a challenge many managers would love to have: he has to choose between Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, and Clarence Seedorf in his 4-3-3 system.

Wesley Sneijder is, on his current form, one of the best midfielders in the world. Since having signed from Ajax Amsterdam, Sneijder scored 4 goals in 3 league games for Real Madrid. Before moving to Spain he was one of the most influential players at Ajax, having scored 43 goals in 126 Eredivisie games.

Rafael van der Vaart, the former wunderkind of Dutch soccer, single handedly moved Hamburg SV from the relegation zone to a European place. He has scored 17 goals in 45 league appearances for Hamburg, despite injuries last season. He started this season brightly, having scored 4 goals in only 7 games in the Bundesliga.

Clarence Seedorf, who had previously fallen out with Marco van Basten, is one of the constant threats for his AC Milan side. Despite playing in the left midfield for his club team, Seedorf has scored 24 goals in 161 appearances for the capital side.

Who is the best of the three though? Cast your vote on the right, and I'll tell you my personal opinion at the end of the week...

Eredivisie Roundup: Ajax and PSV go top

Ajax and PSV both won this weekend to go ahead of Feyenoord as Eredivisie leaders. PSV beat the Rotterdam team 4-0 in their first loss of the season. The two league leaders have yet to lose a game, winning 4 and drawing 1 each.

VVV Venlo 1-3 NAC Breda
NAC won away at De Koel despite the 77th minute sending off of Ronnie Stam. Anthony Lurling and Patrick Swaanswijk put NAC up 2-0, but an 82nd minute strike from Edwin Linsenn gave VVV some hope. However a penalty from Edwin de Graaf put the game beyond VVV's reach. The win puts NAC in a respectable 7th place, while VVV find themselves struggling in 15th.

Willem II Tilburg 1-0 Roda JC Kerkrade
Ibrahim Kargbo struck at the end of the first half to give Willem II a win over Roda JC. The loss put Roda JC into 11th place, while Willem's first win of the season was only enough to move them into 13th.

Sparta Rotterdam 1-1 SC Heracles Almelo
A 32nd minute strike from Nourdin Boukhari was cancelled out by Everton Ramos da Silva in the 63rd minute to give Heracles a point in Rotterdam. Heracles' first point saw the team move into 16th place, while Sparta are near to them in 14th with 4 points.

Vitesse Arnhem 0-2 De Graafschap
Purrel Frankel and Berry Powel struck to give De Graafschap a convincing 2-0 win over Vitesse. A great start to the season sees De Graafschap in 5th place, while Vitesse find themselves one point behind in 6th.

AZ Alkmaar 2-3 Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax pulled out a victory in a 5 goal thriller to go to the top of the league. A double from Luis Suarez and a goal from captain Klaas Jan Huntelaar were enough for Ajax to narrowly win a game which included a penalty miss from AZ's Mounir El Hamdaoui. AZ's two goals came from Demy de Zeeuw and Moussa Dembele, but the pair were unable to get a point from the capital team. Ajax now top the Eredivisie table, while AZ's bad start sees them in 9th.

Excelsior Rotterdam 1-3 FC Groningen
Geert den Ouden gave Excelsior the lead in the 40th minute, but Groningen equalized before half time through Erik Nevland. They then controlled the second half with a strike from Marcus Berg and a penalty from Levchenko, sealing a 3-1 win. Excelsior again failed to secure a point, leaving them rock bottom in the table. Groningen on the other hand are in the middle in 10th on 7 points.

Heerenveen 2-3 FC Utrecht
Giussepe Rossini scored in injury time to secure 3 points for Utrecht in a dramatic win. The game included three goals in the last 7 minutes, with Robin Nelisse scoring his second in the 83rd minute, only for Miralem Sulejmani to equalize two minutes later. The final twist though was Rossini's goal to put the game away. Utrecht moved up to 8th place, while Heerenveen sank into 12th.

PSV Eindhoven 4-0 Feyenoord Rotterdam
PSV destroyed former league leaders Feyenoord thanks to a double from Kenneth Perez and a goal each from Danny Koevermans and Edison Mendez. The Eindhoven giants leapfrogged Feyenoord to go second behind Ajax on goal differential. Feyenoord now find themselves in 3rd after a good start to the season.

Twente Enschede 3-0 NEC Nijmegen
Twente convincingly put away NEC with their 3 goals coming from Rob Wielaert, Blaise N'Kufo, and Luke Wilkshire. The win put Twente into 4th, two points behind league leaders Ajax and PSV. NEC on the other hand are facing an early relegation battle in 17th place.

UEFA Cup: Ajax, AZ, Heerenveen look to next round

Dutch teams did well in today's UEFA Cup matches as Ajax Amsterdam, AZ Alkmaar, and Heerenveen all booked wins. Twente and Grongingen were not nearly as happy, registering a loss and a draw respectively.

Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Ajax
The Croatian champions fell 1-0 to a strike from Dennis Rommedahl after Klaas Jan Huntelaar took advantage of some sloppy defending to get an assist. Ajax are now heavy favorites to make it in to the next round, playing the return leg in Amsterdam.

Groningen 1-1 Fiorentina
Groningen drew at home to Fiorentina, after a strike from Stefan Nijland was canceled out by a Franco Semioli equalizer in the 67th minute. With the return leg to be played in Italy, it will be very difficult for Groningen to make it through.

Heerenveen 5-3 Helsingborg
Heerenveen beat Helsingborg in an 8 goal match. Michael Bradley, Gerald Sibon, and Henrik Larsonn all hit doubles to account for 6 of the goals, with the other two being provided by Razak Omotoyossi and Kristian Bak Nielsen. Even with 3 away goals, Helsingborg will have trouble making it into the next stage, with Heerenveen 2 goals ahead.

Getafe 1-0 Twente
Getafe won their European debut against Twente Enschede in stoppage time, as Ikechukwu Uche slotted home. Twente seemed to have the advantage for most of the match, but the dismissal of 62 minutes gave Getafe a clear advantage, and they will go into the return leg looking for another win. Twente have a shot at home, but are slight underdogs to the Spaniards.

Pacos de Ferreira 0-1 AZ
Pacos de Ferreira's European debut didn't go nearly as well, as AZ's left-back Sebastien Pocognoli scored in the 90th minute to give AZ the advantage in the second leg. AZ are now clear favorites to head through to the next round - and probably further.

Dutch Internationals in the Champions League (9/18)

Dirk Kuyt and Ruud van Nistelrooy were on target today as Real Madrid won and Liverpool tied their first Champions League games.

Van Nistelrooy scored the winner in Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over German giants Werder Bremen. Real Madrid's first, a goal from Raul following a van Nistelrooy pass, was equaled only a minute later when Sanogo scored for the Bundesliga team. However, Madrid were not to be denied as a fabulous pass from Wesley Sneijder put van Nistelrooy through with only the Tim Wiese to beat.

Also playing in the Madrid game were substitutes Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben. The Dutch had a great impact on this game, as Wesley Sneijder once again asserted himself in the midfield, being one of the outstanding performers of the game. Robben on the other hand seemed rather wasteful, first botching a pass to Robinho (in front of a nearly open goal) and then missing a shot that seemed easy enough.

Dirk Kuyt was more accurate, scoring Liverpool's only goal as last year's Champions League finalists drew 1-1 with Porto at the Estadio de Dragao. Ryan Babel also featured in that game, and had the only other Liverpool shot in a game against Porto's formidable-looking defense.

Elsewhere, Jan Venegoor of Hesselink failed to find the net for Celtic as the Scottish Champions fell in a 2-0 loss to Shaktar Donetsk. Clarence Seedorf also played in AC Milan's 2-1 win over Benfica. He had little effect on the game though, and only managed one shot on goal (a small amount compared to the attacking midfielder's usual haul).

Tomorrow see's PSV play CSKA Moscow, as well as Arsenal vs. Sevilla, Manchester United vs. Sporting Lisbon; all games which will feature Dutch players.

Dutch Players in the big leagues (Weekend of 9/16)

The best Dutch international playing in La Liga, the Serie A, or the Premiership this weekend goes to Wesley Sneijder. The attacking midfielder scored his 4th goal for Real Madrid in only 3 games on Saturday with a beautifully executed free kick from 25 yards. Real Madrid won't be missing David Beckham if he hits more like that. In fact, if he keeps going at this rate, it's going to be Sneijder, not van Nistelrooy, who wins the Pichichi.

Also playing in the Real Madrid vs. Almeria game was Royston Drenthe, as van Nistelrooy was given a break following his inclusion during international fixtures. Drenthe came on at halftime for Gabriel Heinze, and the young defender put in another credible performance for the Spanish giants. The 20 year-old may prove to be what the KNVB needs to become a real force in world football.

Elsewhere, Clarence Seedorf, who was recently recalled by Marco van Basten into the Netherlands national team, played for AC Milan in their 1-1 draw away to Siena. Seedorf nearly broke the deadlock with a stoppage time shot, but hit the post rather than the back of the net in what was an inspiring performance from the midfielder. The attacking midfield positions in the Dutch squad seem to be incredibly powerful, with Sneijder, Seedorf, and van der Vaart competing for the spots.

In a more disappointing performance, Robin van Persie was barely seen in Arsenal's 3-1 triumph over North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Elsewhere in the premiership, though, Edwin van der Sar held a clean sheet for Manchester United, and Ryan Babel featured as a 77th minute substitute for Xabi Alonso in Liverpool's 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.

That's about it for the big leagues. Make sure you all watch PSV take on CSKA Moscow on Wednesday and Ajax in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.

Eredivisie Roundup Sept. 16: Feyenoord goes top

Yesterday's fixtures saw Ajax and PSV at the top of the Eredivisie charts with 10 points each. Feyenoord have now leapfrogged both after taking full points from all 4 games this season, topping the table with 12 points and an impressive goal differential of 11.

Game Results:
Roda JC Kerkrade 1-3 Feyenoord Rotterdam
Roda JC went into the dressing room 1-0 up thanks to a 40th minute strike from Ivorian defender Cheikh Tiote. However, this was not enough to stop Feyenoord as a 47th minute penalty from Roy Makaay and a double from Jonathan de Guzman placed Feyenoord at the top of the table. Bert van Marwijk's rejuvenated squad is the only team to have snatched full points from all of their games. Roda JC moved down into 7th with 7 points in what has been a decent start to the season for them.

NEC Nijmingen 0-1 NAC Breda
A solitary goal from Edwin de Graaf was enough to decide this unexciting contest in the favor of NAC. NEC now sit in 16th place with only 1 point from 4 games, while NAC are in 9th with 6 points.

Sparta Rotterdam 2-2 AZ Alkmaar
Sparta let a 2-0 lead slip and ended up winning only one point off of AZ. A 6th minute own goal from Haris Medunjanin put Sparta ahead and a 51st minute strike from Nourdin Boukhari put the Rotterdam team in a good lead. However, goals from Julian Jenner and Mounir El Hamdaoui pulled back a point for AZ. This point allowed AZ to move up to 6th place, Sparta settled into 13th.

Willem II Tilburg 1-3 Twente Enschede
Willem's Rydell Poepon missed an early penalty, but a second penalty from Mohamed Messoudi was converted to put Willem up 1-0 in the 24th minute. However, goals from Blaise N'Kufo and Romano Denneboom as well as an own goal from Frank Demouge granted Twente 3 points, catapulting them into 5th place. Willem II will not be nearly as happy 10 places behind in 15th.

Eredivisie Roundup Sept. 15: Ajax and PSV regain their lead

Ajax Amsterdam and PSV Eindhoven both registered 1-0 wins today, regaining the top spots of the Eredivisie with 10 points. Only 1 point behind them is Feyenoord who take on Roda JC tomorrow.

Game Results:
PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Vitesse Arnhem
PSV pulled out a 1-0 home victory over Vitesse thanks to an early goal from Danny Koevermans. Manager Ronald Koeman will be happy to see his team tied on points at the top of the Eredivisie table. Aad de Mos, the manager of Vitesse, will also be happy to see his team in 4th on 9 points, after a superb start to the 2007/08 season.

De Graafschap 3-2 VVV Venlo
De Graafschap nearly let a 3-0 lead go, as VVV pulled a goal back in the 89th minute through Leemans and another in stoppage time through El Gaaouiri. It was not enough to stop VVV from dropping down to 12th place with 3 points from 4 games. Of these two newly promoted teams, De Graafschap is doing far better, finding themselves 4 points and 5 places ahead of VVV in a safe 7th place. How long can either hold on in the top flight? Both will be hoping not to be in the Eerste Divisie next year.

Excelsior Rotterdam 2-5 Heerenveen
Excelsior went up 2-0 at the Stad Rotterdam Verzekeringen Stadion thanks to a double from Geert den Ouden. However, Heerenveen managed to pull back 3 before half time, thanks to goals from Miralem Sulejmani, Gianni Zuiverloon, and Gerald Sibon. Sibon scored a second in the 52nd minute, and Michael Bradley ended the rout a minute later with Heerenveen's 5th goal. The victory puts Heerenveen in 9th place with 5 points from 4 games, while Excelsior sit rock bottom with no points at all and -10 goal difference. They survived in the Eredivisie last season, but it is difficult to envision them doing it again...

SC Heracles Almelo 0-1 Ajax Amsterdam
Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored a fabulous bicycle kick goal in the 76th minute to grant Ajax a victory over another team with no points. Henk ten Cate's men now sit comfortably on top of the league table alongside PSV having dropped only 2 points. Heracles are not doing nearly as well, having scored only 2 goals and allowed 9 this season. It seems this is another team that will be fighting Excelsior in the relegations zone.

That's it for today's games. Check back tomorrow to see if Feyenoord can overtake Ajax and PSV. Tomorrow's 3 other games will also be covered here.

Dick Advocaat to coach Socceroos

It is speculated that former KNVB manager Dick Advocaat is going to replace Graham Arnold as Australia's national team coach. West Ham captain Lucas Neill believes that the deal is almost done, and only regrets that Australia won't be playing until February.

"I think the coach is pretty much named, apart from a few little contractual issues. That's the story we're getting, so I guess there could be an announcement soon.

"It's just a shame that there are no games for a while, so the hard part is going to be getting together with a clean slate."

The former PSV Eindhoven and Rangers coach is currently serving as the manager of FC Zenit St. Petersburg, where he is contract-bound until the end of the Russian league in November. Advocaat, who took Holland to the quarter finals of Euro 2004, is expected to do a great job with the Socceroos, and his pedigree says that he will be able to do so.

Maybe with Advocaat's help the Australians will begin playing 1-touch possession football like the Dutch.

Netherlands vs Albania: Euro 2008 Qualifying Match Review

Holland left it until stoppage time to score in the Euro 2008 Qualifying match that put them equal on points with Group G leaders Romania. Although the Dutch dominated for virtually the entire match it took a late stoppage time winner from Ruud van Nistelrooy to put away the tie.

The Oranje were boosted by the presence of Wesley Sneijder who miraculously recovered from injury in time for today's match after picking up an ankle injury in training on Monday. The other starters were Edwin van der Sar, Wilfred Bouma, Joris Mathijsen, Mario Melchiot, Andre Ooijer, Gio van Bronckhorst, Demy de Zeeuw, Ryan Babel, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Robin van Persie.

The return of Sneijder meant that Clarence Seedorf was once again relegated to the bench, as was the fit-again Rafael van der Vaart who came on in the 49th minute for de Zeeuw.

Both Sneijder and van Nistelrooy narrowly missed the target in a bright start for the Dutch, although Albania occasionally looked dangerous as well. Edmond Kapllani had a 7th minute header blocked, and Erjon Bogdani shot well wide in one of Albania's few attacks.

Albanian goalkeeper Arjan Beqaj had two good saves in the first half, equaling a rocket from van Nistelrooy and a curled ball from Sneijder.

It was Edwin van der Sar who was first called into action in the second half, beating off shots from Bogdani and Lorik Cana in the first few minutes after the break. However, as the Dutch piled forwards, an opening goal began to seem inevitable.

Sneijder had a 54th minute volley saved, and Rafael van der Vaart and Mario Melchiot both came close, before Robin van Persie forced Beqaj into yet another save.

However, as the game approached the 90 minute mark, the Dutch appeared to falter and the game looked set to become a 0-0 draw. In the 87th minute, though, Cana was sent off, and the Dutch looked determined to beat a 10 man Albania.

A cross from former Barcelona man Gio van Bronckhorst reached van Nistelrooy who made no mistakes from 12 yards out, saving blushes for the Dutch in injury time.

Netherlands vs Albania: Euro 2008 Qualifying Match Preview

Tomorrow Marco van Basten's Oranje will face off against Albania in a Euro 2008 qualification match. The Netherlands, who are second in the group behind Romania (with a game in hand) are strong favorites to win against Albania and qualify for the finals to be held in Austria and Switzerland next year.

The first qualifier between the two was a close win for Holland, who managed to pull out a 2-1 victory after an own goal from Arjan Beqaj gifted 3 points to the Dutch. Although Albania should take solace in the fact that van Basten wants to rotate his squad, the Albanians are unlikely to be able to get nearly as close this game.

The Dutch will be missing Wesley Sneijder due to injury and Johnny Heitinga for personal reasons. Clarence Seedorf is likely to start in Sneijders place with an attacking lineup also likely to feature Rafael van der Vaart in his return from injury.

The Dutch team received a huge boost when Marco van Basten and Ruud van Nistelrooy reconciled their differences, allowing the Real Madrid front man back into the international scene. Van Nistelrooy impressed on his return to the Oranje, scoring a goal against Bulgaria on Saturday. Despite van Basten's rotation policy (and the copious talent in the Dutch front line) the former Manchester United player is likely to start against Albania.

The Oranje have great depth in their squad and should therefore be able to do away with a technically inferior Albania fairly easily, even without fielding our best side. I predict a 3-0 win, bringing us even on points with Group G leaders Romania.

Match Review

Huntelaar wanted by Manchester rivals

Manchester United and Manchester City are both reportedly scouting out Ajax striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Although Ajax already had to sell Ryan Babel and Wesley Sneijder this summer, it seems that after failing to qualify for the Champions League for the second year in a row, they may have to part with their biggest asset left.

The price tag surrounding the 6 ft 1 in 24 year-old is rumored to be in the range of £18 million, a fee which either Manchester club could easily afford. The loss of their top scorer would be a huge blow to Ajax, but the lure of the Premiership may be too much for the Dutchman come January, and the capital team may be forced to sell.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson apparently sees Huntelaar as the ideal replacement for Ruud van Nistelrooy who headed to Real Madrid in the 2006 summer transfer window.

I could see Huntelaar doing wonderfully well at United, as the club have fabulous build-up play, and Huntelaar is a natural goalscorer. He would be unlikely to reproduce a strike rate as impressive as his 42 goals in 51 games at Ajax in the Premiership, but could prove to be as fearsome as van Nistelrooy should the transfer formulate.

I doubt the young striker would settle for Manchester City though, as he is a hot commodity, and would likely want guaranteed Champions League football. However, the funds of Thaksin Shinawatra could coax Ajax into selling him into the Premiership.

Wesley Sneijder to miss Wednesday's Albania Clash

After the good news of the returns of Rafael van der Vaart, Ibrahim Afellay, and Urby Emanuelson, Netherlands fans will be heartbroken to hear that Wesley Sneijder picked up an ankle injury in training today and is unlikely to feature in Wednesday's Euro Qualifier against Albania.

We registered a convincing win against Bulgaria on Saturday thanks to strikes from Sneijder and van Nistelrooij, but may have a harder time doing away with the less threatening Albanians without the golden boot of Sneijder.

Sneijder, who has scored 4 goals in his last 3 games (including the strike against Bulgaria and 3 in his first 2 games for Real Madrid) has been exceptional for club and country this year, and will be sorely missed by both if his injury happens to be worse than at first expected.

Nonetheless, it would be difficult to envision the powerful Dutch losing against an Albanian team which has only 9 points from 7 games. The undefeated Oranje could pull even with group leaders Romania (who have played one more game) if they manage to pull out a win against Albania.

All that we can do at this point is hope that Sneijder's injury is nothing major.

Royston Drenthe Downs Norway, Dutch trio set to return for Albania tie

Valencia target Rafael van der Vaart, Arsenal target Urby Emanuelson, and young midfielder Ibrahim Afellay are all set to return from injury in time for Holland's Wednesday Euro 2008 qualifier against Albania. However, Ajax defender Johnny Heitinga has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons and is set to miss the tie.

The match against Albania should be a walk-over for a relatively injury free Netherlands team, and the Dutch are in prime position to qualify for the European Championships which are to be held next year in Austria and Switzerland. We won yesterday against Dimitar Berbatov's Bulgaria squad, leapfrogging them into second place 3 points behind group leaders Romania with a game in hand.

In other news, Royston Drenthe scored from the penalty spot in yesterday's U21 Euro qualifier to beat Norway 1-0. The Real Madrid defender has now made it 2 goals in 2 qualifiers, and is part of the reason that the Netherlands are heavily favored to qualify for the 2009 U21 European Championship.

Netherlands vs Bulgaria: Match Review

It seems like I chose as good a day as any to start a Dutch international soccer blog, as the Netherlands ran over Bulgaria, going second in their Euro 2008 qualifying group. Wesley Sneijder and Ruud van Nistelrooy were on target as the Dutch won 2-0 over Dimitar Berbatov's squad.

The Netherlands are now 3 points behind Romania (who beat Belarus 3-1 today) in Group G, but have a game in hand. We leapfrogged Bulgaria who are now 2 points behind.

The game began with Marco van Basten opting to play three men up front, Robin van Persie, Ryan Babel, and Ruud van Nistelrooij (his first international since his falling out with van Basten after the World Cup last summer). Babel started in the absence of the injured Arjen Robben. Edwin van der Sar started in goal as usual. The other starters for Holland were Wilfred Bouma, Mario Melchiot, Johnny Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Demy de Zeeuw , and the excellent Wesley Sneijder. Excluded from the starting lineup due to injury were Rafael van der Vaart and Denny Landzaat.

Bulgaria started the game well, missing out on two decent scoring chances when Petrov had a deflected shot saved by van der Sar and the sublime Berbatov headed wide from a corner. They were made to rue these missed chances when Sneijder, who has scored 3 goals in his first 2 games for Real Madrid, scored from a 20 meter free kick in the 23rd minute.

Van Nistelrooy added a second for the Oranje after latching on to Ryan Babel's pass in the 58th minute. We came close to a third when Clarence Seedorf (who had come on for Sneijder) hit the post with a shot in the 80th minute.

Bulgaria tried to fight back with some decent late chances, but once again failed to capitalize, allowing the Dutch to go second in the group. Bouma cleared a shot from Petrov off of the line in the 76th minute, and van der Sar was just able to tip Berbatov's 84th minute shot over the post.

Sneijder and van Nistelrooy, the pair from Madrid, have set us in prime position for qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals, and with a game in hand against the group leaders it wouldn't be too forward to guess that we could end up first in Group G. Overall, it was a good day for Dutch football.