Baku, March 14, AZERTAC

Ajax have hired Klaas Jan Huntelaar, according to the club.

The former top striker will be added to the club’s technical staff.

In order to guarantee continuity for the short term, after the departure of Director of Football Affairs Marc Overmars, most of the tasks associated with football direction have been temporarily transferred to technical manager Gerry Hamstra who works closely with head coach Erik ten Hag.

Huntelaar will support the pair of them in said affairs, effective immediately. From July 1, 2022, he will also take courses, which will allow him to develop further in his new role off the pitch. The former footballer, who ended his impressive career at Schalke 04 this past summer, will sign a contract that runs until July 1, 2024.

In addition to Huntelaar’s appointment, the Ajax Supervisory Board and management team have jointly set themselves the goal of appointing a new Director of Football Affairs in the summer of 2022.

The striker played for Ajax from the 2017/2018 season until the beginning of 2021 and also played for the club between 2006 and 2008. Huntelaar made his debut in Amsterdam on January 15, 2006 in the match between Ajax-NEC (1-1) and played a total of 257 official matches, scoring 158 goals. He won three league titles with Ajax. He also won the KNVB Cup in 2006, 2007 and 2019 and the Johan Cruijff Shield in 2007 and 2019.