The Old Wines Just Keep Proving They Can Only Taste Better: Klass Jans Huntelaar Vs Fc Twente.
In a sport where huge amount of strength, stamina, speed, and tenacity is now required to meet up with its fast technology improvement and tempo, it is pretty amazing to see how the "Old Ones" are holding their own, proving to be just right there with the younger generations.
Yes, the likes of Juventus' veteran goal kepper, Gianuiggi Buffon(42 years old), Chelsea's amazing duo of Olivier Giroud(34 years old) and Thiago Silva(36 years old), AC Milan's ever young and dynamic Zlatan Ibrahimovic(39 years old), our current FIFA World's Best Men Player and Bayern Munich's prolific striker, Robert Lewandowski(32 years old), not to forget the 2 greats of our time, Juventus' 5 times Ballon d'Or winner, Christiano Ronaldo(35 years old) and Barcelona's 6 times Ballon d"Or winner, Lionel Messi(33 years old) are all still very much up there, doing their thing and giving the younger generations loads of things to worry about. Their exploits at this old age are just phenomenal, not forgetting the charisma and confidence they give to the respective teams they play for.
However, one player whose amazing feat last week caught my attention was ex Real Madrid and AC Milan striker, Klass Jans Huntelaar. The Dutch and Ajax veteran who is 37 years of age and have played for 8 clubs till now, proved he still has his goal scoring magic with him when he helped Ajax to a 3-1 victory over Fc Twente.
With the likes of young and performing strikers such as Sébastien Haller, Zakaria Labyad, and Lassina Frank Traore in Ajax squad, Huntelaar has seen his on feild playing time reduced greatly, however, the Dutchman never failed to give his best whenever it was required of him, and I guess that was why the goddess of good fortune smiled on him this time around when a lot was required of him.
1ST HALF: FC TWENTE 0:1 AJAX
Knowing fully well that a win was of great importance if they needed to go back to the top of the Eredivisie league, Ajax came out strong against Fc Twente, and they were a goal up in the 7th minute thanks to a Sébastien Haller's header from an Antony cross. However, that was how far Ajax could get in the first half as a resilient Twente side proved difficult to break in subsequent attempts.
2ND HALF: FC TWENTE 1:3
Twente started with greater intent in the 2nd half and were unlucky to see Queensy Menig 47 minute goal disallowed for offside. However, they never gave up, and were rewarded in the 84th minute when Julio Pleguezuelo reacted first to Ryan Gravenberch's poor clearance of Dean Rots header.
We definitiy would have thoughtt the game was going to end with the scoreline being 1 all considering Twente's resilient displays, however, as in the game of football, it is not over until the final whistle is blown and everyone is probably out of the stadium as in the case of the game between Manchester United and Hove Albion this season where a penalty was awarded even after the final whistle had been blown.
With a minute remaining for the normal duration of play to be exhausted(89th, Huntelaar was subbed in for Gravenberch, and just a minute later(90th, he, Huntelaar, got his name on the scoresheet after doing justice to a beautiful Haller's header. A minute later(91st), Huntelaar got himself a brace when he slotted home a Labyad Zakaria'a assist from a 1 on 1 position, extending Ajax lead to 3 goals to 1. 2 minutes of magic from the veteran Dutchman you wnat to say.
The Dutchman's effort on the pitch was not just in front of the opponent's goal alone, he also helped with a well timed clearance in the 94th minute, ensuring the scoreline remainded 3-1 in favour of Ajax at the end of the game. What an amazing 7 minutes of play for the veteran striker, and no wonder his effort earned him a contender for the "Man Of The Match" award.
Definitely, we will continue to get more of these "Old Ones", I just hope the younger generations can take the wheel off their(the old players) foots soon enough, else, we might see the likes of Messi and Ronaldo dominating the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Men's Best Player for another year atleast.
Feel free to drop your opinions and comments, they will be greatly appreciated.
Much Love from your Football Analyst and Writer, IbkDaGreat.