The Center Striker Saga

Marco van Basten will change the team next Wednesday. But…which positions? Center striker Huntelaar – playing a tough match last Saturday – will wait and see.

They’re rivals. Totally different players and the perspective of sub Dirk Kuyt and Klaas Jan Huntelaar is totally different in the post-Rumania days…

But they do have one thing in common: the shere impossible position of The Striker of Oranje.

While Huntelaar explained again – heavily sighing – where it all went wrong against Rumania, Kuyt was anxiously walking around the inner sanctuam of De Kuip, with a face like a cockroach.
The Liverpool striker is always happy to talk to press, but last Saturday he ignored most reporters and avoided all questions.

Biding his time and biting his nails, he could hardly surpress his anger on the bench when van Basten didn’t even give him a chance as substitute to try and break the Rumanian wall down, when the game asked for it.

The only hope Kuyt has, is that Marco van Basten changed his preference for the center striker position in the six last international games.

Last week van Basten explained that all center strikers had him doubting. At this point in time, it seems it doesn’t really matter who wears the number 9 shirt. Oranje is a center striker cemetery it seems. In three years, none of the candidates seemed to be able to convince the former Best Striker of the World ™.

In 33 matches, Van Basten tried Makaay, van Hooijdonk, Van Nistelrooy, Kuyt, Huntelaar, Van Persie and Vennegoor of Hesselink. In 13 out of 33 matches the center striker scored, in 20 matches the point man didn’t.

Only 17 out of 58 goals were scored by the central striker, which is 1 goal in 3,5 matches. Just to compare, Kluivert scored once every 2 games! Van Basten himself needed 2,5 duels to score a goal. And both players acted in a 4-4-2 system in Oranje!

It was Huntelaar’s turn to get his hands and feet dirty in the National Strikers’ position. The Ajax player didn’t get one opportunity to score. And like his predecessors, his team mates had trouble offering him a chance or involve him in the game.

Still, he does not want to call it quits…. “You are never 100% depended when you’re the center striker. But, football starts at the back and you do need your mates to get to the ball. You play this game with eleven players and we all depend on eachother. Today, we failed.”

Huntelaar knows Oranje always has a hard time against extremely defending teams, being it Rumania or Luxembourg. “No I am not worried. I mean, we played well against Ireland and showed everyone we can do it. We did have more space against them, but we did get some against Rumania. You always get your chances, but we didn’t transform them this time.”

The big question now is, if Huntelaar will be able to play his seventh international match coming Wednesday. “I don’t think about it in that way. I want to play, obviously. But I’ll go and train hard and I’ll see what happens. But if you ask me, sure…I want to play Wednesday.”

source: www.ad.nl