Before joining Schalke 04 in August 2010, Huntelaar had previously played for PSV Eindhoven, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid, and Milan. He won the Champions League with Madrid and Italy's Serie A title with Milan.
Huntelaar made his debut for PSV against SBV Excelsior on 15 August 2009 and scored his first goal four days later against Heracles Almelo. During his time at the club, he helped them win the Dutch Cup in 2009 and the Eredivisie title in 2010. He moved to Schalke 04 for €15 million ($20 million) plus Diego Palacios. During his time at Schalke, he won the DFB-Pokal cup in 2011 and the UEFA Europa League in 2012.
After leaving Schalke 04, Huntelaar joined Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for a reported fee of $44.5 million (€37.5 million). He made his debut on 18 March 2013 in a 1-1 draw against Shanghai Shenhua and scored his first goal for the club two weeks later in a 3-0 win over Chongqing Lifan.
Huntelaar began the 2004-05 season with Heerenveen, scoring on his Eredivisie debut against AZ Alkmaar, and had 10 goals in 17 appearances by the winter break. Huntelaar finished the season with 17 goals in 31 games, helping Heerenveen qualify for the 2005-06 UEFA Cup. In the summer of 2005, he moved to Ajax where he has become one of the league's top strikers.
Huntelaar scored his first goal for his new club on August 26, 2005, in a 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg in the Champions League. He went on to help Ajax win the double that year: the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup. He returned from injury late in the 2006-07 season and helped Ajax win its third consecutive title. During the 2008-09 season, he scored 23 goals as Ajax won its fourth straight championship. That record was broken this past season when Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored 26 goals.
Overall, Huntelaar has scored 166 goals in 357 matches since his debut in 2004. He is the second most prolific scorer in Ajax history behind Marco van Basten who scored 211 goals.
After his success at Ajax, Huntelaar joined Spanish club Real Madrid in July 2009. However, he failed to make an impact at the club and was loaned out to German side Schalke 04 for the remainder of the season in January 2010.
He won the Eredivisie, the KNVB Cup, and the Johan Cruyff Shield with Ajax in 2019; he also featured in the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League, where his club reached the semi-finals. Huntelaar announced his retirement on December 12, 2020, at the completion of the 2020–21 season.
During his career, Huntelaar played for several clubs in Europe, including Schalke 04, Sunderland, Galatasaray, and Olympiacos. He was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world during his time.
Huntelaar was born on March 18, 1984 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was raised by his mother after his father died when he was young. He started his professional football career at age 17 when he signed with Dutch club AFC Ajax. Under manager Martin Jol, he became a first-team regular and helped the team win the 2002 UEFA Champions League. In 2004, Huntelaar was transferred to German club Schalke 04 for €7 million. However, he only appeared in three matches for the club and was subsequently loaned to Premier League side Sunderland in January 2005. At Sunderland, he was voted Player's Player of the Year as he helped the club reach the 2006 FA Cup final before being sent off in the match against Chelsea. Huntelaar returned to Schalke in June 2005 but was eventually sold back to Sunderland for £5 million ($8.5 million).
Ruud van Nistelrooy/Current teams, Jong PSV manager, Netherlands national football team assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy/Current teams, Netherlands national football team assistant Van Nistelrooy played for five different clubs during his career, each one of them in the top division of their country. He started out at hometown club Ajax, where he made his debut in 2001 at the age of 19. After three seasons there he moved to Manchester United, where he spent two years before moving back to Amsterdam to join PSV Eindhoven. In 2009 he returned to England and this time he went to Liverpool.
Van Nistelrooy's professional career began in 1997 when he joined hometown club Ajax from amateur side HC Volendam. He helped the club win the Eredivisie title in his first season, scoring 20 goals in 22 matches. The following year he scored 23 goals in 25 games as Ajax won its second consecutive championship.
In January 2000 Van Nistelrooy signed with Dutch giants Ajax, where he remained until 2004. During his time at the club he won two more championships (2001, 2003) and was also named MVP twice (2000, 2001). In addition, he earned 80 caps and scored 44 goals for the Netherlands national football team.
Ruiz, a product of CSD Municipal's youth program, has played for five MLS teams (Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Philadelphia Union, and D.C. United), scoring 88 goals in 182 MLS regular-season appearances and 16 post-season goals, the most in MLS history. He also has two goals in nine caps for the Costa Rica national team.
He made his debut for Los Angeles on August 13, 2004, against San Jose Earthquakes and scored his first goal four games later against Chicago Fire. On October 14, 2005, he scored his second goal in a 2-1 victory over New York Red Bulls. In 2006, he was named MLS Player of the Year after scoring 31 goals, including three game-winners. He finished with 33 goals in 2007 and was again named MVP.
In 2008, Ruiz started out slow before finishing with 26 goals, just one behind MVP candidate Chris Wondolowski. He announced his retirement at the end of the season.
Ruiz came back from retirement in 2013 when he signed with Toronto FC as a designated player. He returned to MLS Cup this past December when DC United defeated Toronto 2-1. Ruiz had a hand in both goals as he scored one himself and set up the other by Wayne Rooney.
After one season with DC United, where he scored six goals, Ruiz returned to FC Dallas on January 24, 2015.
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